Born For the Sunrise, We'll Survive the Pain
by vanhoose
Summary: It's spring break of the keeper's junior year of college. Disneyland Paris is introducing the DHI's and all 5 keepers get a free week in Paris! On the way there, the plane suddenly malfunctions and crashes onto an uninhabited island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Will they survive long enough to be rescued or will the island claim five more victims?
1. A Little Faith

**Alrighty guys. I got this idea a long time ago and thought that now was a good time to start it! I was kind of reluctant since there's a couple of other stories similar to this...but I figured I'd try anyway. **

**Do not despair! This won't be your typical plane-crash-onto-island story. **

**Here's the first chapter! **

* * *

Chapter 1: A Little Faith

"This is going to be the best spring break ever!" Charlene squealed as the private jet came into view.

"Disney is seriously the best!" Finn agreed.

"A private jet? You know you're important when there's a private jet involved!" Maybeck added.

"I bet Paris is _lovely _this time of year!" Willa said with a radiant smile.

"Best part of the job, right here!" Philby added as he wrapped an arm around Willa's shoulders.

"When can we get on? I'm ready to get there!" Charlene was literally jumping up and down with excitement.

"Soon enough." The flight attendant said from behind them. "We've got things to do on the plane before you can get on it. Now, why don't you go say goodbye to your friends and family while we get the plane ready?"

The five teenagers didn't need a second reminder.

Finn said a quick goodbye to his parents and little sister before moving on to Amanda.

Before saying anything she pulled him in for a tight hug.

"I'm going to miss you," she whispered.

"I'm only going to be gone a week, Amanda." Finn started laughing. "We've had worse."

"But still, Finn." Amanda looked up at him. "It's still a week."

"I know, I know. We'll be okay. It's not like we've got to worry about Maleficent coming after us or anything."

Amanda sighed dramatically. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right." Finn wrapped his arms tighter around her tiny waist and pulled her closer. "You'll be fine."

"Don't have too much fun without me, okay?"

"Aww, Amanda, you're no fun," Finn joked.

Amanda leaned up on her toes and kissed him.

"I love you, Finn."

"I love you too Amanda."

"Come on Finn! You're not the only one who wants to say goodbye to Amanda." Willa said from behind them.

Both Finn and Amanda laughed. Finn gave Amanda one last kiss.

"It's just one week, okay?" He whispered into her ear.

"I'll be right here when you come back so you can tell me all about Paris."

"I wish you could come with me. I hear Paris is the most romantic place in the world. Only the best for my girl."

Finn kissed her once more on the cheek and stepped away from her, giving her a wink when Willa wasn't looking.

* * *

"Alright kiddos, let's get buckled up for takeoff." The captain's voice came over the speaker. All five keepers sat down in their seats and buckled their seat belts.

"Right now it's 3 P.M. eastern standard time. Our flight will last about twelve hours and fifteen minutes, bringing us into Paris, France around 9:15 in the morning—French time, of course." The flight attended then proceeded to remind them of all of the safety features—ones that they had heard many times before on similar trips.

Finn looked around and glanced at his four best friends-none of which were paying attention to what the flight attendant had to say.

Charlene and Willa were currently looking at different French fashion magazines. Charlene was commenting on all of the fashion and asking Willa to translate the French for her.

Finn never called girls hot—especially since he had a girlfriend—but Charlene...today...was _hot_. Her turquoise shirt was loosely hanging off her shoulders with a skin-tight, white, spaghetti-strap tank top underneath. The white jean shorts complimented her beautifully tan skin—no doubt a result of a trip to the tanning salon recently. Her blonde hair was as straight as it could be.

Willa, on the other hand, had a completely different look. Her brown hair was pulled into a loose bun, but there was one small braid that merged into the bun, keeping her bangs off of her face. She was wearing a purple V-neck shirt with black shorts. She currently had on a light, white North Face jacket over it. She wasn't drop dead gorgeous, like Charlene, but still beautiful.

But in Finn's opinion, Amanda still had them beat.

Philby and Maybeck, one sitting on either side of him, were currently arguing about which was better: football or soccer.

Ever since joining the army, Maybeck _loved_ to brag about how cool he was. Finn never doubted that he was cool, he just got annoyed when Maybeck rubbed it in his face. Today Maybeck was wearing jeans and a gray Army t-shirt with his dog tag hanging from his necklace.

Philby looked more sophisticated. Finn figured making a perfect MCAT score did that to a person. Even though they were only college juniors, Philby was already planning for medical school. Today he was dressed in jeans and a orange polo shirt. He claimed his khakis were "being washed."

Finn, felt completely underdressed compared to his friends. He was in black basketball shorts and a maroon FSU shirt. _I guess I didn't get the memo_, Finn thought to himself.

"Maybeck, see football is a misleading name. The only person who uses their foot is the kicker. In soccer, which is called futebol everywhere else I might add, that's the only part of the body you're allowed to use! It makes logical sense! That just shows that Americans can be complete idiots sometimes."

"Need I remind you that you're an American? You were _how_ old when you left Britain?"

"Eight."

"My point taken! You've basically lived here your whole life!"

"But that doesn't mean I agree that football is better than soccer."

"If you were a true American you would."

Philby rolled his eyes. "Oh and you're such a _true_ American I suppose?"

Before Maybeck could come up with a good come back, Finn stepped in.

"Dude, both of you just shut up. Both sports are fun."

Maybeck crossed his arms and looked away, mumbling something about how Finn didn't know anything.

A few minutes of silence between the three passed before Finn decided to break the silence.

"So Philbs, what exactly are we doing in Paris?"

"We've got to do a bunch of formalities. Like meet and greets with important people in France, formal dinners, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. We get one day in the park and another to explore Paris. But otherwise we're on a strict schedule. The official first unveiling of the DHI's won't be until Saturday though."

"Yuck."

If there was one thing Finn hated about being a DHI model, it was all the boring formalities. He became famous—awesome. He got to do charity events—cool. Disney sending him to Paris for a week for free—epic. But formal dinners and little free time? No thank you.

"As long as we get to see some hot girls along the way, I think we'll be fine." Maybeck added, suddenly interested in his friends again.

"I wouldn't let Charlene hear that," Philby retorted.

"Don't lie, Phildweeb. You want to see some hot French chicks too. Finn's the only one that can get away with it though," Maybeck nudged Finn. "Right?"

"Uh…I'm not so sure about that." The last thing Finn had planned on doing was checking out girls while he was here. Amanda would be waiting for him back home.

"Oh please, Finn. Guys like us don't get free passes for a week! Heck, Philby and I don't get a shot this week! You've got every man's dream here! Take it! At least for us!"

Philby rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself!"

"Maybeck, I'm not going to do that to Amanda."

Maybeck crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "Suit yourself."

* * *

Seven hours into the flight and to say Finn was bored would be an understatement. Philby, Charlene and Maybeck were both sleeping. Willa was reading a book by the light of her phone, but she looked like she was asleep-at least to Finn.

Finn got up out of his seat and walked into the back of the plane, where the flight attendant kept all of the food and other stuff.

He grabbed himself a soda and a bag of chips.

"Can't sleep either?"

Finn jumped, dropping the bag of chips, and turned around to see Willa standing in the doorway.

"You scared the crap out of me Willa!"

Willa let out a quiet laugh. "Sorry about that." She walked into the room and grabbed herself a few Oreo's out of the pack.

"How much longer do we have?"

"Only about five more hours."

"That's not too bad."

"Nope."

"You don't want to sleep?" Finn asked as he leaned back on the small mini fridge. "We've got a full day ahead of us."

"Can't," Willa started looking for a glass to pour some milk into.

"How come?"

"I just can't sleep on planes or cars…or moving things in general now that I think about it."

"Really? That's strange."

"Yeah. That cruise we went on in ninth grade was the worst."

"I have a feeling you weren't sleeping for other reasons," Finn joked.

"Yeah," Willa smiled. "I guess you're right."

"So how are things at FGCU?" Finn asked before taking a sip of his drink.

"They're going great," Willa said with a smile. "Junior year's been the hardest by far, but I'm not regretting it. It's kind of sad it's almost over."

"We've got another year, Willa. I think you're being a bit over-reactive."

"Well I've got to do student teaching next year, and then there's finding a job, and finding a place to live…"

Finn raised an eyebrow as Willa continued to ramble on about how stressful the last year of college was going to be.

"Willa?"

"And then what if Philby gets into a medical school across the country? Do I go with him? Do I stay here?"

"Willa?"

"And then there's you guys. I want to be close enough to you guys because you're my family. I can't just move across the country randomly. Not without you guys."

"WILLA!"

Willa turned and looked at Finn. She immediately started blushing when she realized she had been rambling.

"Willa, don't worry about the future. You and Philby are going to be just fine."

Willa glared at Finn. "You're talking about Philby and I as if we're married."

"Are you being serious right now?"

Willa's glare turned into a look of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on Willa! We all know you two are going to get married! We're just counting down the days until Philby gets the guts to finally ask you."

Willa didn't let it show on her face, but Finn could tell that the thought of Philby proposing excited her.

"Let me guess, Maybeck's got running bets?"

"Of course! This _is_ Maybeck we're talking about."

"Do I get to know the bets?"

"No way! You might influence the outcome!"

Willa rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered under her breath.

"Charlene, Jess _and_ Amanda are in on it too."

"WHAT?"

The plane shook slightly, making Willa drop her glass of milk. It shattered on the floor, spilling the milk everywhere. Finn could have sworn he heard somebody jolt awake, but he ignored it.

"What was that?" Willa's voice was shaky.

"A little turbulence I guess." Finn shrugged. "My mom says that happens on planes a lot."

Willa nodded, but didn't look convinced.

Finn reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay, Willa."

The plank shook again, this time more violently.

Finn fell to the floor, accidentally pulling Willa with him. She landed on top of him, crushing his rib cage.

When the shaking had stopped, the two tried their hardest to stand.

"We should get back to our seats," Finn quickly stated.

Willa nodded, but before they could get out of the back room, the plane shook, again. Finn grabbed the edges of the doorframe as if his life depended on it.

"I'm sorry kids, it looks like we've hit a rough patch. I'd buckle up while I try to get us out of here." The captain said over the speakers.

Finn heard Maybeck, Philby and Charlene waking up, but the turbulence was preventing him from making any progress in heading toward the front of the plane—where the seats were.

Where they would be safe.

"Finn! We need to move forward!" Willa yelled.

He turned behind and looked at her. "What do you think I'm trying to do?"

The plane shook once more and knocked both Finn and Willa backwards.

This time, Finn landed on top of Willa. Another violent shake of the plane and he rolled off of her, only to hit his head on the mini fridge.

For a few seconds, his world was fuzzy. He heard screaming and shouting. He felt more turbulence—more and more violent with each shake. He heard his name being called, but he couldn't form any words. But more importantly he heard a loud _BOOM!_ and a _RIP!_

And that's when everything went black.

* * *

Jess awoke with a start. Not only was her dream the worst nightmare she'd had in years-it involved her friends. Jess rolled over and looked at her alarm clock: 10:42 A.M. _Ugh_, Jess complained. _Why didn't Amanda wake me up?_

Jess got up, brushed her hair and walked out of her room.

"Amanda?" Jess called out. "Why didn't you wake me up? I told you I had a lot of homework to do! I wanted to get it out of the way before we head to the beach tomorrow!"

Jess went into the kitchen and started pouring herself a bowl of cereal. She didn't care that it was almost lunchtime. She always started off her day with one bowl of cereal. Most of their food was gone anyway since they were about to take a vacation to the beach and didn't want anything to get spoiled while they were gone.

When she didn't hear Amanda reply, Jess got curious. She put the milk back in the fridge, grabbed a spoon and walked into the living room. Amanda was sitting on the couch staring at the television. She looked as if she had just rolled out of bed. Her eyes were puffy and red.

"What's up Amanda?"

Instead of replying, Amanda pointed the remote at the screen and turned up the volume.

On the screen was a news anchor. In the top right corner was a picture of the Disney DHI models-aka their five best friends. This picture had been taken right before they had all stepped onto the plane. All five were smiling and waving to the crowd that was waiting to catch a glimpse of them before Paris.

"The breaking news of the hour comes from Paris, France. Disney's infamous DHI models were supposed to arrive in Paris, France today for the unveiling of the new DHI's in Disneyland Paris. When the plane didn't arrive on schedule, people started getting curious. Each of the repeated attempts of getting in contact with the plane have failed. Disney released a statement from Orlando an hour ago."

The screen moved from the news anchor to a press conference. A man in a suit stood at a podium, the flashes from the cameras giving him an eerie look.

"After contacting the five families, we are here to announce that the private jet carrying the 5 DHI models to Paris early this morning has crashed somewhere over the Atlantic. We are not sure of the location of the plane or if there are any survivors, but we will inform the public of any news as soon as we have it."

Amanda pointed the remote at the screen and turned off the television.

"Oh...my...gosh..." was all Jess could say. She was speechless.

"They're gone," Amanda whispered. She buried her head in her hands, tears streaming down her face as fast as water falls over Niagara Falls. "Finn's gone."

Jess sat there and stared blankly at the television. "I had a dream about that. I...I didn't think it was one of _my_ dreams."

Amanda glanced over at Jess. "When did you have this dream?"

"Just last night."

"Did you see if they survived?"

"No...I woke up before that." Jess was now on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry Amanda. I...I couldn't watch any longer."

Amanda put her head back in her hands. "I can't believe they're gone."

"They might still be out there somewhere, Amanda." Jess scooted closer and started rubbing Amanda's back. "We've just got to have a little faith, that's all."

"Yeah," Amanda whispered. "A little faith."

* * *

**So...what do y'all think? Is this something y'all will want me to continue? I know I've got my other story "Whodunnit?" but I thought I'd at least throw this one out there for y'all to see.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Keepers or Switchfoot's lyrics to their song "Dark Horse" (where the name of this story comes from)**

**Please review! Tell me what you think! Yes, continue or no, because there's a couple of other _great_ "plane crash onto island" stories (for example, Lost by kingdom-keepers-rule).**

**Either way (like or not), have a wonderful weekend! :)**


	2. Red Wine & Lost Puppies

**Eleven reviews for the first chapter! That's got to be some kind of record!**

**I won't keep you guys waiting much longer! Here's chapter 2 :)**

* * *

Chapter 2: Red Wine & Lost Puppies

Day 1

Finn woke up to water splashing his face.

After having a few seconds of confusion and coughing up the salty sea water, he pushed himself up off of the sand and stood up.

He was standing on the edge of a beach…on an _island_?

_BOOM!_

Finn turned to his right and saw a small part of the plane hurtling towards him. He waited until the last possible second before diving out of the way, landing face first in the sand.

He surveyed the scene and saw that the back half of the plane was not too far away from him. But instead of being the same pearly white that it was before it was black and charred. A few parts of the plane where it had obviously been torn in half were still in flames, but by now most of the flames were gone.

_How long was I out?_

Finn decided to see what was left in the wreckage, so he stumbled over toward the plane. A sharp pain shot up his leg, causing him to double over. _Why didn't I feel that the first time I stood up?_

Finn looked down and saw that his left leg was covered in blood. He noticed only a small gash beside his ankle. So the question became: where did all of the other blood come from? There was way too much blood to say that it all came from his ankle.

He quickly searched the rest of his body and only found a few minor scratches. None of them would explain the massive amount of blood on his leg.

Then it hit him: _Willa._

Finn limped over to the charred part of the plane and started frantically throwing things around. She had to be in here somewhere.

He searched and searched and searched but eventually the pain in his leg became too much to handle and Finn sat down on the sand on the opposite side of the plane.

Between the heavy breathing and the tears, Finn could have sworn he saw someone walking towards him.

He wiped the tears and sweat off of his face with the bottom of his FSU t-shirt. He looked back up and saw that the person was gone.

"Hello?" Finn called out.

A few seconds of silence—if one excluded the sounds of the parts of the ship still burning.

"Finn?" A strangled cry came from the direction in which Finn had seen the person. Finn did his best to stand up, only falling down twice, and hobbled over toward the person.

He walked a few steps and saw that the person was trying to stand up too. And that that person was Willa. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her white jacket was wrapped around her waist and her purple V-neck shirt was drenched in sweat, or possibly water-Finn wasn't sure.

"Willa?" Finn asked.

She glanced up at him and tears of joy streamed down her face. "FINN!"

She ran into his arms, causing him to fall over. But Willa didn't seem to care. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him into a hug.

"Oh Finn! I thought you were dead! I thought I was going to be alone on this island all by myself!" Her tears of joy turned into tears of sadness. It didn't matter why she was crying, though, she was still staining Finn's favorite shirt.

"Willa, don't worry, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"But…but what about the others? Maybeck and Charlene and…and…"

"Philby?" Finn regretted saying his name only instantly. Willa looked up at Finn and rolled off of him. She sat forward and put her head in her hands.

"Willa…" Finn sat up and wrapped his arm over her shoulders. "I…"

"It's okay, Finn. I should just accept that they're gone."

Hearing her say that broke his heart. At least he still had a chance to be with Amanda—assuming they got rescued. If the rest of the plane had really gone up in flames, all three of their friends were dead. Willa would never get to see Philby again.

"Don't say that Willa," Finn looked off down the beach. "Maybe the plane split in half and they crashed further down the beach."

Willa turned her head up to look at him. "You think so?"

"Sure, why not? If there's anything I've learned from being a keeper it's that_ anything_ is possible." He scooted closer to her. "Like the fact that when we were in ninth grade, we could fall asleep and wake up as holograms inside Disney World. I bet most people think that's impossible."

"I guess you're right," Willa let out a quick laugh and _almost_ smiled. Finn, on the other hand, did smile. Willa was usually the one that was always positive. Finn decided that if she wasn't going to be positive, he would have to be.

_One of us has to be, right?_

Willa stood up and started back toward the plane.

"Where are you going?" Finn struggled to stand and hurried after her.

"We've got to see what's left for us to use!"

"But it's all burnt!"

"The outside is burnt." Willa walked into what was left of the back room and started opening the doors of the cabinets. "Some of the stuff inside here should be good enough to use."

Finn moved over to the mini fridge and sat down on top of it. He reached down and opened the door. Inside he found a few sodas and about five unopened water bottles.

"I found some water," Finn told Willa. She turned around and had a few boxes of food in her arms.

"I found some brownies and crackers. Not much, but the crackers will last a few days. We'll have to find our own food probably starting tomorrow."

"We need some place to sleep, like…uh…a shelter."

Willa set down the food on the counter and walked outside. She returned a few seconds later. "I'd say the sun's going to set in a few hours. We don't have time to make a shelter. What's left of the plane will have to do for tonight."

"Okay." Finn tried to stand up but the pain forced him back down.

"Finn, your leg!" Willa knelt down beside him and examined it. "Why didn't I notice this before?"

"I don't know. It looks worse than it is."

"Where did all this blood come from? You've got like one cut on your ankle!"

"I don't know."

Willa studied his leg for a second and broke out into a wily grin. She took a finger and ran it up his leg, getting some of the blood on it. Without hesitation she put it to her lips and she tasted it.

"WILLA!"

She laughed at his reaction.

"Willa! That's blood! Have you lost your mind?"

"Finn, calm down! It's just red wine!"

"What? How could you possibly know that?"

"There's no way the blood is yours. The cut's at the bottom of your leg, so unless you were hanging upside down for a couple of hours, it can't be your blood. I wasn't anywhere near you when the plane crashed, so it can't be _my_ blood."

"Then how did you know it was red wine?"

"I noticed a glass of if sitting on the counter when we were in the back room before the plane crashed. Must have been the flight attendant's."

"And you know this…just by looking at my leg?"

"Yes," her smile grew wider. "I'm just good like that."

She stood up and moved into another area of the plane wreckage. She came back a few minutes later with a frustrated look on her face.

"We don't have a first aid kit."

"Why do you need one?"

"You've got a cut. I was going to wrap it up and put some medicine on it."

"It's just a small cut, I'll be fine."

"Finn," Willa put her hands on her hips. "We're on a deserted island. It could get infected. Now's _not_ the time to be stupid." She extended a hand to him. "Now come on, let's get you washed off so I can get a better look at your leg."

* * *

_"WHAT?"_

_Maybeck jolted awake. The plane shook a tiny amount and he heard the sound of glass breaking. _

_The plane shook again, more violently this time, causing Maybeck to fall out of his seat and into the aisle. He heard some things in the back room fall, but didn't notice. _

_He had barely made it back into his chair when the plane shook again. He looked to his left and saw that Philby was still asleep. _

How the heck can you sleep through that?_ Maybeck thought to himself. _Wait…where's Finn?

_Maybeck turned around to see if he was in the back room when the plane shook again._

_"I'm sorry kids, it looks like we've hit a rough patch. I'd buckle up while I try to get us out of here." The captain said over the speakers._

_"Dude!" Maybeck reached over and punched Philby in the stomach. "Wake up and buckle up!"_

_Philby woke up and obviously didn't need much convincing to buckle up. The plane kept shaking, more and more violently each time._

_Maybeck glanced over at Charlene who was clinging to the arms of her chair for dear life. _

_"Charlene!" Maybeck screamed, though he doubted she could hear him over the turbulence._

_She turned around and gave him a scared look. _

_Maybeck reached out and motioned for her to come and sit in between him and Philby. She shook her head no. _

_"Come on Charlene! It'll be safer between us!"_

_She looked uncertain, but he could tell she was unbuckling her seat belt. She hurried over to the seat, but before she could make it into the seat, the plane made a couple of eerie sounds and the plane broke in half._

_Maybeck reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her into his lap as the plane plunged down almost in a nose dive._

_He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and held on tight, her head leaning on his chest._

_Under normal circumstances, Maybeck would be thrilled that she was this close. But these circumstances were anything but normal._

_As the plane went down, he could feel himself losing consciousness, but Maybeck willed himself to stay awake. If he passed out, he would let go of his tight grip on Charlene and she would fall—probably to her death._

_And he was _not_ about to let that happen._

_The plane kept falling and falling and falling. Maybeck thought it would never end._

_And then the plane hit something. Hard. The row of seats that he and Philby were sitting in were flung from the plane and flew about twenty yards before falling into the water._

_Maybeck looked over and saw that Philby was unconscious. He had a huge gash on his forehead. He let go of Charlene and she floated in the water around the seat with a horrified look on her face._

_"Philby!" Maybeck screamed. He undid his seatbelt as fast as he could and swam over to him._

_"Philby! Dang it! Wake up!" Except he didn't say dang._

_Maybeck undid Philby's seat belt as the row of seats started to sink. Inside, Maybeck was cursing at the stupid seats. They were supposed to be floating._

_Once he got the seat belt unfastened, he struggled to keep himself and Philby above the water's surface._

_"What do we do now Maybeck?" Charlene asked._

_Maybeck searched the horizon and saw land about ten yards to their left. _

_"Land!" He pointed with his left hand, since he was holding up Philby with his right. "Swim that way!"_

_Charlene didn't need another word. She swam off in the direction of land, leaving Philby and Maybeck to fend for themselves._

* * *

Day 1

Maybeck jolted awake. He searched his surroundings and saw that they were at the edge of the jungle. The beach looked so beautiful. In about four feet of water, the plane was sticking out of the water. His clothes were sticking to him, an unwanted result of swimming to shore. _Stupid jeans_. He put his hand on his collarbone and felt his dog tag still hanging there. At least if he was going to die here, somebody would know who he was.

"You finally decided to join us?" Charlene asked from behind him.

She walked over and sat beside him, handing him a piece of fruit that Maybeck had never seen before. Her clothes sticking to her skin. She had a few scratches, but nothing major. She still looked beautiful-no plane crash would change that.

"Where are we?"

Charlene shrugged. "No clue."

"Where's Philby?"

"He's working on a shelter."

"He's awake?"

"Yeah. He woke up right when you pulled him to shore. You don't remember?"

Maybeck shook his head.

"Oh that's right. You passed out once we got to the beach."

Maybeck nodded weakly. His arms were very sore. "How long was I out?"

"It's the next morning."

"Wow."

"Yeah, Philby and I started working on a shelter when we woke up. I found some food."

"What about Finn and Willa?"

Charlene took a deep breath. She looked as if she had been crying. "They must have been in the back of the plane."

"Do you think they survived?"

"I hope they did. At least for Philby's sake…if not for any other reason."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Oh good you're awake," Philby said as he walked past Maybeck and Charlene and headed toward the waves. "I've got a theory to run by you two."

Maybeck looked at Charlene and shrugged. He stood up and helped Charlene stand. Together they walked over to where Philby was standing. He looked as if he had been up all night-the bags under his eyes were the biggest indicator. The gash on his forehead was just a scar waiting to happen now. His clothes were soaked, but from sweat, not water. It was obvious he was working to keep his mind off of Willa.

When they got over to Philby, Maybeck stood in between the two. The waves were washing over their feet systematically, as if on a timer.

"See the angle that the plane is at?" Philby asked the two of them. He looked over at them, expecting an answer.

"Sure Phildweeb," Maybeck said sarcastically. "I know all about angles and stuff. Math was my all-time favorite subject. I do geometry for fun." Maybeck gave him a thumbs-up.

Philby rolled his eyes and pointed out to the plane. "The back of the plane is facing toward the island. That means that the plane flew over the island before crashing into the sand."

"Okay, so where's this awesome theory that you wanted to tell us about?"

"I think that the plane must have split over the island." Philby turned around, facing the jungle. "That means that the back half of the plane is probably on the other side of the mountain."

Maybeck turned and saw a slew of mountains. He didn't know exactly how tall the tallest mountain on Earth was, but he was sure these were it.

Charlene reached over and grabbed his hand. He gave her hand a light squeeze.

There was hope that their friends were alive. A small chance, but still...there was a chance.

"So what exactly are you suggesting Philby? That we go after them?" Maybeck asked. "That's a heck of a hike."

Philby studied the mountains. "We could do it, if we could find water."

"There's a butt load of water behind us."

"We can't drink that."

"And why not?" Charlene protested.

"Because it's salt water. It'd be safer to find our own water source. Like a stream or a river or a pond."

"Oh."

There was a few seconds of awkward silence before Maybeck spoke up.

"So when do we leave?"

"What do you mean?" Philby asked him. He turned to face Maybeck and immediately noticed them holding hands. Philby's expression turn from hopeful to pure sadness.

Writing "I miss Willa" on his forehead would have been just as effective.

Maybeck let go of Charlene's hand and ran it through his hair. He loved making fun of Philby and Willa, but even he knew now was not the time to be doing such things. He wasn't cruel.

"I…uh…meant…uh…when do we go look for…uh…water?"

"Whenever you want to, I guess."

"Alright. Let's head out then." Maybeck started walking back to the edge of the jungle. He had only taken a few steps when he turned around and saw Charlene and Philby staring at him.

"I…uh…don't know where our shelter is," Maybeck stated awkwardly.

"I'll show you. We can leave in a little bit. Is that okay with you Philby?"

"Yes," Philby answered quietly. He turned back to face the waves. Maybeck could tell he was focusing on the plane, not wanting to cry in front of either of them. Not knowing whether or not Willa was alive was already rough on him.

Charlene was about to put a hand on his shoulder, but Maybeck caught her eye and shook his head. She gave Philby a sympathetic look before joining Maybeck.

"He looks like a lost puppy," Charlene whispered to him as she guided him to their makeshift shelter.

"It's only going to get worse the longer they're apart."

"I know. I hope they're okay."

"Me too, Charlene." Maybeck stepped over a rock. "Me too."

* * *

**So what do y'all think? Please review! Or don't...I don't care! :P Enjoy the rest of your weekend!**


	3. The Brat & The Lost Couple

**Thanks for all the great reviews so far! Keep them coming! They make my day :)**

**I've been trying out new ways to narrative stories recently (those who read my other story "Whodunnit" might have noticed as well) so let me know if y'all like the way I set this chapter up! **

**Here's chapter 3 :)**

* * *

Chapter 3: The Brat & the Lost Couple

Day 1

"You expect me to go up _that_?" Charlene asked Maybeck and Philby. They were standing at the base of one of the mountains.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we? Are you _scared_?" Maybeck asked her in a mocking tone.

It could have just been Philby, but Maybeck looked like he was sweating a bit more than usual. He had been acting strange all day. They had been walking for a long time—maybe the heat was getting to him?

"NO!" She crossed her arms. "It's a freaking mountain! Without the proper equipment that's ridiculously dangerous!"

"Charlene, this only way to find water is to start walking up the mountain." Philby said in a calm voice. The last thing he wanted was for Charlene to leave them. "We shouldn't have to go up that far. We'll just be walking along paths up the side of the mountain. We won't have to actually climb unless we get near the top.."

"Surely there's some water at the base of the mountain!"

"Geez Charlene!" Maybeck threw up his hands in frustration. "We've been at this for ten minutes now! We're going up the stupid mountain so we don't die of dehydration! Now suck it up and let's get walking!"

Maybeck wiped his sweaty forehead and trudged off past Charlene and started heading up the mountain.

Philby saw that Charlene was holding back a lot of emotions. She looked angry that Maybeck had yelled at her, upset that they were stuck on a deserted island, fear that they would never make it back.

He truly felt sympathetic for her.

She looked over at him, holding back tears. He gave her a weak smile.

"Come on, Charlie. Everything's going to be fine." Philby walked up to her and turned her around. "Let's catch up to Maybeck before he gets too far ahead."

He pushed her gently along in Maybeck's direction.

Philby knew that being stuck on an island with the couple that fights all the time would be tough—especially without Willa—but he figured he'd at least have a few days of peace and quiet before they got in each other's faces.

He was wrong…it barely took a day.

* * *

Day 1

"So Finn, tell me what you think about this plan." Willa was crouched down in the sand, using a stick to draw out a plan for their shelter.

Finn hobbled over there, trying his best to hide his pain from Willa. The last thing he wanted was for her to freak out about his leg.

He sat down in the sand next to her. "Whatcha got?"

Willa used the stick to point at what she was talking about. "I say we get some tree branches and tie them together and prop it up against a tree. It won't be a lot of space, but we'll make the best with what we have. It'll shield us from the rain and the sun in the morning. That's all that matters right now."

"What are we going to tie the branches together with?"

"I found some rope in the back of the plane."

Finn gave her a confused look. "You did?"

"Of course! There's a whole cabinet of survival equipment that we somehow missed!" Her smile was hopeful, which was a good sign after yesterday.

"What else did you find in there?"

Willa shrugged. "A knife and a few blankets."

"A knife? Are they allowed to keep those on planes?"

"I suppose they allow it as long as it's locked."

"How did you get it open?"

She glanced down at her drawing in the sand and shrugged again. "Heat from the fire melted the lock."

"Oh."

"So I say you can use the knife and start cutting branches. You should be able to get enough to tie together by sundown."

"Me? What about you?"

"I'm going to go search for food. We've got enough water to last for us for a couple of days, but if I find some out there that'll be a bonus." She gave him a wily grin. If Finn didn't know any better, he'd think that she was enjoying this.

"Alright," Finn slowly stood up so that his limp wouldn't show. "I'll start cutting branches. I'll leave them at the edge of the jungle. Meet me back here in an hour?"

Willa nodded and left to search the jungle for food. Finn took a deep breath, picked up the knife and walked over to the nearest tree. He started sawing off the branches. It was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

"You didn't have to yell at me Maybeck!" Charlene yelled at him. They two of them were currently walking side-by-side along a makeshift trail. They had been searching for water for the entire day and still nothing. Up the mountain they ascended, and still nothing. The sun would be setting soon, then they'd be out of luck.

Dehydration was getting the best of them. Maybeck could feel his anger with Charlene growing—and he had no idea why. All she had said before was that she didn't want to climb the mountain. _Why did that annoy me so much?_

"If you hadn't been such a brat I wouldn't have to yell at you!" Maybeck yelled back.

"A _brat?_ Is that what you think of me?"

"Sometimes, yeah! You don't even consider anything! It's always about you!"

"Is not!"

"Is _too_!"

"Is not!"

"Yes it is, Charlene! You never do anything for me!" He stopped and turned her towards him. "When was the last time you did something for me?"

"We went to go see that _stupid_ movie that you wanted to see _so_ bad! And you know what? It was the worst movie I've ever seen!"

"Shutter Island? Stupid?" Maybeck rolled his eyes. "Please, Charlene you loved it!"

"Did not! I pretended to like it because of _you_!"

"That's the best you can come up with Charlene? That's pathetic!" He started walking again, avoiding eye contact with her.

They walked a few more steps in awkward silence. She caught up to him, her shoulder slightly nudging him as they walked.

"You really think I'm a brat?" Charlene asked in a quiet voice. He knew that he had hurt her, but he didn't seem to care. It was a weird feeling.

"It's not just me, Charlene! Everyone thinks that!"

Charlene stopped in her tracks and stared at him, tears forming in her eyes.

Why didn't he seem to care? Seeing her crying was the last thing he wanted-it even broke his heart. But today he had had enough. None of it made any sense.

_If I could get some dang water everything would be better_. Except he didn't say dang.

"_Everyone_?"

Maybeck turned to face her, standing about ten feet away.

"Why wouldn't they Charlie?" He threw up his hands in frustration. "All you do is complain! It's irritating! Do you know how it makes _me_ feel? You've got it so good and all you do is whine! You're such a whiny little brat!"

Charlene walked up to him, her face inches from his face.

"Don't you dare call me Charlie! Not if you're going to yell at me like this!" She slapped him across the face as hard as she could and walked past him, making sure to bump his shoulder as she did.

Maybeck looked forward and saw Philby standing there with wide eyes, speechless.

Maybeck turned around and stormed after Charlene. He didn't want to talk about it. He was beyond furious with Charlene, but he didn't want her to get lost in this stupid jungle on this stupid island.

_She's just being stupid,_ he reassured himself. _She'll come around after we get some water._

A blood-curdling scream came from Charlene's direction, causing both Maybeck and Philby to break into a run.

Maybeck kept running until he reached a drop off.

"CHARLENE!" He yelled.

"Down here!" Her voice called out, this time sounding more joyful.

Maybeck shared a quick look with Philby, to which he replied with a shrug. They both leaned over the edge and saw that below was a pool of water. To their left, a small underwater stream broke out into a waterfall. At the bottom of the waterfall, the jungle continued on.

It was like their own little oasis.

Down in the water, Charlene surfaced and waved up at them. She was smiling from ear to ear.

"I found some water!"

"Sweet!" Philby called out. "How cold is the water?"

"A little bit! But it feels _so_ good! Why don't you two jump in?"

Philby took a few steps back.

"You can't be serious!" Maybeck scolded Philby.

"How many times are you going to get to swim by a waterfall on a deserted island?"

"I never planned on being on a deserted island in the first place!"

"Live a little!" Philby ran off the edge and dove into the water. He resurfaced a few seconds later.

"Doesn't it feel great?" Charlene asked Philby.

"I love it! Come on Maybeck! Jump in!"

Maybeck took a few steps back. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

He ran at full force toward the edge of the cliff. He did a cannonball into the water, splashing Charlene and Philby.

The water felt so good against his dry, sunburnt skin. It was cold, but not freezing. He surfaced and was immediately welcomed by splashes from both Charlene and Philby.

He turned and saw that Philby was looking at the couple expectantly.

_Oh great, what does he want now?_

"Why don't you two just make up already? You were fighting over something stupid—like _always_." Philby said bluntly.

When Maybeck and Charlene both gave him confused looks, Philby rolled his eyes and elaborated.

"Charlene, you're not a brat. Maybeck, you're probably dehydrated. That's the only reason that logically explains your random yelling. Now both of you say you're sorry so we don't have to sit through any awkwardness for the rest of our time here. Okay?"

Maybeck looked over at Charlene, but she didn't look back.

"I'll give you two a few minutes alone," Philby said before swimming over to the edge of the water, pulling himself out of the pool.

"Charlene…"

"No, Maybeck. _I'm_ going to start." She turned to face him. "If we're going to be stuck on the island together, we can't be fighting all of the time. We have to stick together. If you want to...if you want to break up, it'll have to happen after we get rescued."

She studied his face for a few seconds before turning away to join Philby.

Maybeck knew this was his moment.

He reached with his hand and grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him.

"I'm sorry, Charlene. I shouldn't have said the things that I did. Dehydration is a stupid excuse, but it's the only one I've got right now. I don't want to break up, not in a million years."

"Really?" Her eyes were sparkling with hope.

"Of course! If I broke up with you, who would you fight with for fun?"

Charlene laughed, which was music to his ears. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I guess I wouldn't fight with anybody then."

"That's a tragic life, if you ask me." Maybeck joked.

They might fight all of the time, but that was their way of showing that they cared. It didn't make sense to anyone, but to them it did. She was his peppy cheerleader who got onto his every mistake and he was her bad boy/artsy army man who reminded her when she got a bid head. But it didn't matter whether they were fighting or not, deep down she was _always_ going to be his beautiful angel and he was _always_ going to be her knight in shining armor.

"I love you Charlie," Maybeck leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love you too Terry."

Others might not see how they were perfect for each other. But Maybeck didn't care. She loved him and he loved her. _And that's all that matters, right?_

* * *

They had been working for hours. Finn had cut enough branches for them to use. Willa tied them together and they leaned up the row of branches against a tree. On the ground of sand and dirt, she laid down a blanket. There was barely enough room for both of them to lay down.

Willa sat at the edge of the water as Finn was working on a starting a fire a few feet from the shelter.

She couldn't help but see the beauty in the ocean. The waves constantly turning, hitting her feet every few seconds. The sun was setting on the horizon, turning the water furthest away from the beach a dark purple shade.

Philby was on her mind twenty-four seven. Where was he now? Was he hurt? Was he thinking about her? Was it even _alive_?

She wanted to be able to hug him more than anything.

Heck, if she even had a sign that he was alive she'd be the happiest girl on earth.

She wiped a tear off of her cheek and started walking back to Finn.

She saw him limping over to the shelter and was confused. _When did he get hurt?_

"Finn?" Willa called out as she walked over to him. "When did you hurt your leg?"

"What are you talking about Willa?" He looked up at her with a confused look, but she knew better. His eyes said it all: he was in a lot of pain.

"Let me see it, Finn." She knelt down beside him and looked at his right leg.

Finn let out a sigh of discontent. "It's the other leg."

Willa moved so that she could look at his left leg. On the outside nothing looked bad—no scratches or bones sticking out. She moved her fingers up his calf, seeing if she could feel anything out of place.

She stopped halfway when she felt an indentation.

"Does this hurt?" Willa asked before pressing her fingers down into the indentation.

"OUCH! YES WILLA IT HURTS!" Finn yelled. She removed her fingers and gave him a serious look.

"Finn, I think you're leg's broken. Why didn't you mention this sooner?"

"Because…I didn't want to worry you. Besides, we don't have a first-aid kit, so we can't do anything about it."

"Of course we can!" She reached over to the pile of smaller sticks that he had gathered for the fire. She got up and grabbed the knife and what was left of the rope from inside the shelter. She sat down beside him and propped the stick next to his leg, sizing it up.

"I'm going to have to pop the bone back into place, otherwise this isn't going to work."

"It's going to hurt, isn't it?"

"A lot," she gave him a _I'm sorry I have to do this_ look.

Finn took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "Fine. Just make it quick."

"There's some alcohol in the fridge. I could go get some if you want to drink it. It'll help with the pain."

Willa waited as Finn weighed his options. She stood up in anticipation that he would want the alcohol.

Finn tapped his right foot. She could tell that he didn't like either option. His eyes met Willa's and he groaned in protest.

"Get me that bottle."

* * *

After the sun set, Maybeck and Charlene had finally stopped the bickering. Whatever they had said to each other when Philby left them alone had worked.

The trio decided to camp out by the waterfall tonight. They would return to their camp tomorrow and bring back something to carry water in—something they had stupidly forgotten the first time.

Charlene had fallen asleep with her head in Maybeck's lap. He was leaning up against a tree not too far away from the water's edge. Philby noticed how his arm was protectively draped over Charlene's stomach.

Philby scooted over to the water's edge and put his feet in. The water felt so good between his toes. He couldn't help but wonder where Willa was and what she was doing.

Was she thinking of him? Was she looking up at the same night sky? Was she hurt?

Philby took a deep breath. He sure hoped that she wasn't hurt.

He wanted to find her. He wanted to be able to hold her tight. If he ever got the chance to do so again, he would never let go. He loved her way too much to do so.

He glanced up the mountain and tried to calculate how long it would take them to climb over the top. Based on the height of the mountains, climbing without the proper equipment was out of the question. There had to be another way to get across the island.

Walk across the beach? Maybe there was a pass in the middle of the mountain range? Neither of them were quick solutions to their problem.

He took another deep breath and threw a rock into the water out of frustration.

There wasn't going to be a quick solution to this problem. Not this time. He needed all the time he could get.

He glanced back at Maybeck and Charlene and an idea popped into his head.

_Do I even dare to consider it for more than a second?_ He asked himself. _Maybe it's for the best._

* * *

_A shadow walks through a dense tropical jungle. No, it's not a shadow. It's a person. But who? Jess couldn't see a face for the person was facing the other way, walking away from her._

_In the person's hand was a stick…a walking stick perhaps? The outline of the person was becoming more clear, but the colors were mixing together, making it hard to distinguish one from another. Whoever it was, Jess was obviously not meant to know._

_There was a ruffling of trees and leaves to the left. Then again, a few seconds later, to the right._

_The person stopped, calling out something incoherent. It's not that they were yelling gibberish, it's just that Jess' dream wouldn't allow her to hear, for that would give her an opportunity to recognize the voice-thus being able to recognize the person._

_Which, at moments like this, was _very_ frustrating._

_The ruffling got closer and another person emerged out of the jungle and pointed a gun at the person's head. _

_This new person was wearing a dirty white shirt with a few cuts in it. Jess could see the scars that had healed through the cuts in the shirt. The person's khaki shorts were just as dirty: soiled from the dirt and stained with sweat and blood._

_The person took a few steps closer to the person that Jess saw as a blur and put the gun to the person's forehead. _

_"You're coming with me," was all the person with the gun said._

* * *

Day 1

Jess jolted awake and started drawing immediately.

Amanda, who had been leaning on Jess' shoulder jolted awake as well. She watched in silence as her sister drew out her dream.

When she was finished, Jess showed the picture to her sister.

"I still can't see who this person is," she stated, pointing to the person who had a gun held to their forehead. "It was blurry in my dream, as if I wasn't supposed to see who it was."

"That's strange. Has that ever happened before?"

"I don't remember a time when it did this before," Jess shook her head and took the drawing back from her sister, placing it on the coffee table in front of them.

"Do you think it was one of them?" Amanda asked her sister. It had been a while since they had heard anything concerning their friends lost at sea. Amanda was starting to panic. Jess know that if Finn never made it back, Amanda would go insane.

"Possibly. The background is a tropical jungle. It's possible that this was from an island in the middle of the ocean."

"Maybe," Amanda yawned. "I think I'm going to go get some more sleep…in my bed."

"I'm going to stay out here and watch some TV. Is that okay?"

Amanda raised an eyebrow at her sister. "We share this apartment, you know that right? You can do whatever you want!"

"I know, I know. Just old habits kicking in." Jess smirked at her sister. Amanda had been in this apartment longer than her due to Jess' year at art school. Jess had always felt as if she was living in Amanda's apartment.

"Don't stay up too late watching TV, okay? We're going to Finn's parent's house tomorrow, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah I remember. Night sis."

Amanda got up and left the room. Jess spread out on the couch, covering herself with a blanket. She reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

An episode of LOST was on. Jess immediately turned it off.

A TV show about a plane crash was the _last_ thing she wanted to watch at a time like this.

* * *

**So...what do y'all think? I couldn't resist mentioning LOST. It's just something you do now when you're talking about a plane crashing onto a deserted island. **

**Please review! Let me know what you like and don't like! I want some honest answers! Any ideas as to what Philby's idea was? I'd love to hear what y'all think!**

**Anyway, I hope y'all have a great week! **


	4. From the Treetops

**Sorry for the long wait, guys. This one's a little bit shorter than the others, and it's kind of a filler chapter to bridge the gap between the last chapter and the next one coming up. So, I apologize for the bad quality and the boringness of this chapter in advance.**

**Here's chapter 4!**

* * *

Chapter 4: From the Treetops

Day 1

It had taken Willa a lot longer than usual to set Finn's leg. Setting the leg was the easy part. Having a drunk Finn Whitman around forced her to take longer.

After setting his leg, she helped him move over to a tree, where she propped him up. She took the bottle of wine from him and put it down in the sand a few yards away. She warned him not to move his leg, but she wasn't sure how much he actually heard.

They sat there together as the sun set. Now the only light around was the small fire that Finn had made before she popped his leg back into place.

He was currently going on and on about the good old days when they would battle Disney villains. Willa got up and started walking back to the plane, where they were still keeping what little food they had. She grabbed two pieces of fruit and started cutting them with the knife.

"Whoa babe. You look hot today."

Willa turned around and saw Finn stumbling into what was left of the plane. He had the bottle in his hand and was heavily leaning on the door.

"Uh…Finn?"

"Wow Amanda, I've missed you sweetheart."

"Finn…" Willa set down the knife and pushed it as close to the wall as possible. "I'm not Amanda."

Finn let out a weird laugh, one that was uncharacteristic of him. He took a step forward putting a hand on her arm to steady himself.

"I come in here to put up the bottle of wine and I find my girl in here, instead? Talk about a great surprise. I know you've missed me. Give me a kiss."

Willa's eyes went wide. That is _not_ happening. _I refuse to kiss him!_

Willa took a few steps back, hoping that Finn's grip would loosen. Unfortunately, it only got tighter.

"Finn…you've been drinking a lot tonight. I think you should go back to our shelter and get some sleep."

"Not before you give me a goodnight kiss, Amanda."

Willa kept backing up until she was all the way at the edge of the plane. Finn kept inching closer to her. _Why does he think I'm Amanda?_

"Amanda, come on babe. You've never run away from me before."

"Finn, I'm _not_ Amanda."

"Yeah and I'm not Finn Whitman." His drunk self mocked her.

"I'm Willa. Don't you recognize me?"

"Willa? Ha! That's a good one! You two look nothing alike." He took a few steps forward, stumbling to the point of almost falling down.

_You have no idea_, Willa thought to herself. _I guess I'm going to have to pretend to be Amanda for now._

"Give me the bottle, Finn." Willa said in her best "Amanda" voice.

Finn didn't seem to acknowledge what she had just said. He kept walking forward and was currently standing right in front of her.

Willa could smell the alcohol on his breath and had to resist the urge to vomit. Finn leaned in, but stopped a few inches from her face.

"One kiss, Mandy? Just one, that's all I ask."

Willa's eyes went wide as Finn leaned in the rest of the day and kissed her on the lips.

For the first few seconds, Willa was too shocked to do anything. After composing herself, she pushed Finn off of her and grabbed the bottle out of his hand. He stumbled back a few steps, almost falling to the floor.

"Amanda, what's wrong?"

"I'M NOT AMANDA!" Willa yelled. He was starting to get on her last nerves. She had dealt with drunk people before—her roommate freshman year of college was rarely sober—but Finn was crossing over the line.

Finn's expression turned to confusion. "I-I don't understand."

Willa thought about what she could do her. She could try to convince Finn that she wasn't Amanda, but that seemed hopeless. She could slowly direct him back to the shelter to sleep, but he might try to kiss her again, so that was out of the question.

Willa glanced down at the bottle and a plan formed in her head.

"Amanda?" A confused and drunk Finn asked.

"Oh Finn, please forgive me." Willa stated before using the wine bottle to whack him over the head.

Finn was immediately knocked out and Willa hurried to catch him before he hit the ground.

After she had dragged him back to their shelter and laid him down, she was exhausted. Willa wanted to physically distance herself as far away from Finn as possible, so she walked over to the edge of the water and plopped herself down on the sand.

She knew that he was going to wake up and have no knowledge of what just happened—and that was okay with her. The fewer number of people who knew about him kissing her and calling her Amanda, the better.

_Maybe giving him the bottle to numb the pain wasn't a good idea after all._

Willa couldn't help but wonder what Philby would do if he ever found out what had just happened. Would he be mad or would he laugh?

Willa came to the conclusion that he'd probably be suspicious of Finn for a little bit, but then get over it. Willa would be lying if she said she thought Philby's insecurities were annoying. She found them rather cute. After being together almost seven years, he still got jealous. Instead of getting annoyed with it, she found it as one of the many signs that he truly loved her.

Another sign? The fact that every morning she always woke up to a good morning text or call. If he had classes earlier than her, he would text her so that he wouldn't wake her up. If she had classes earlier than him, he would set his alarm for a few minutes before hers and send her a text right when her alarm was going off. It would be a good morning call on the weekends. Those were her favorites. No matter what, he would always call her when he woke up, sometimes he'd wake her up by doing so.

She knew that one day if they ever got married those would probably go away, but she wouldn't mind then. She'd get to wake up and see him, which is even better than reading a text or answering a phone call.

Willa hoped that if she went to sleep now that she would wake up to his good morning call or text, or better yet, see him walking down the beach towards her. She had only gone one morning without them so far and she already missed them terribly—almost as much as she missed him.

Willa couldn't help but wonder if he was even alive. As long as he was alive, there was still hope that they would be together some day. She refused to leave this island without him.

* * *

Day 2

"LOOK!" Philby's British accent called out from behind Charlene. She had been walking beside Maybeck on their way back to their shelter, with Philby trailing behind.

Charlene and Maybeck turned around and saw Philby pointing to something on the side of the mountain. It looked almost like a tower protruding from the treetops.

"How did we miss that the first time?" Maybeck asked. "That thing's huge!"

"Probably because you two were fighting the whole way to the waterfall," Philby retorted. "I'm going to find out what it is. Who's with me?"

Maybeck and Charlene shared a quick look. His was saying _let's do it, it's an adventure._ Hers was more like _I want out of this jungle. NOW._

"We're in!" Maybeck answered for the couple. Philby started heading in the direction of the tower, with Maybeck following quickly behind. Charlene let out a quick dramatic sigh before falling in behind him.

To say Charlene hated the jungle would be an understatement. She was tired, filthy, sweaty and was already feeling the symptoms of dehydration coming on. _I would kill for a shower right now_.

As the trio trudged through the jungle, one thought occurred to Charlene.

What if they weren't alone on this island? She figured that Finn and Willa were on this island somewhere, but that's not who she was talking about. She was thinking about the possibility of _others_. Someone had to build that tower, right?

Charlene wasn't sure how long they walked before they reached the tower.

The tower itself was pure magnificence. Though it was in the middle of the jungle, the architect had taken the time to carve intricate designs into the base of the tower. The tower itself was probably twenty to twenty-five feet tall and made out of white marble. The designs at the base were painted in bright colors that had faded over time.

"This tower must have been here a long time," Charlene commented, pointing to the fading colors.

"I've never seen these kind of designs before," Philby added as he examined the designs. "They're so elaborate. But they're unlike any art style I've ever seen."

"Whoa there Van Gogh, don't go cut off your ear." Maybeck retorted. Charlene turned around and saw his arms crossed over his chest in defiance.

"You try to tell me where this design comes from then!" Philby stood up, allowing Maybeck to have room to study the designs. "You're the one who's got an aunt who owns a pottery shop."

Maybeck mumbled something incoherent, but probably profane. He leaned in and studied the design for a good solid three minutes before turning around to Charlene and Philby.

"I've never seen this kind of work before. The use of shapes is something I've never seen before. It's unreal."

"That just shows that we don't know who we're up against here." Philby said while glancing around at the surroundings. So far it looked as if the tower stood by itself, but Charlene knew better. Where there was a tower, there had to be a village or a fort or something to that effect.

"The people who used to live here are probably long gone, Philby. This tower's got to be at least a few decades old. The colors on that design are fading. If people were still here, they'd have gone over those colors already." Charlene stated.

"She's got a point," Maybeck said to Philby. Maybeck got up and started searching around the base of the tower.

"Guys!" He called out from the other side of the tower. Charlene and Philby scrambled over to where his voice was coming from.

When they reached him, Charlene looked in the direction he was looking at and froze in awe.

About ten feet in front of them was the beginnings of a small village. The buildings were built of stone, with the occasional marble building. They were brightly color designs, similar to the ones at the base of the tower, along the bottoms of all of the buildings in the village. The buildings were all lining a street that probably used to be paved, but the jungle had started to stake its claim. It looked as if the village had been abandoned for quite some time.

"Whoa," was all Charlene could say.

Maybeck took a step forward and then turned back to face Philby and Charlene. He had a wily grin slapped on his face.

"Wanna go exploring?"

* * *

**Kind of short, and like I said, it's a filler chapter. Next one will be better, I promise.**

**Please review! I love reading what y'all have to say! Tell me what y'all liked or didn't like about the chapter (or the story in general). And please be specific! **

**Anyway, have a great rest of the day and enjoy the rest of your week! I'll update as soon as possible!**


	5. The Need for a Distraction

**Sorry it's been a while guys! Honestly, I just had no clue what I wanted to do with this story or where I wanted the plot to go. BUT DO NOT DESPAIR, I have figured it out. **

**In regards to the last chapter and Finn & Willa...all I'm going to say is expect the unexpected. :P The unpredictable is the best plot twist :)**

**Here's chapter 5! :) I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Need for a Distraction

Day 2

Amanda knocked on the door three times quickly.

"I think one time would have worked," Jess retorted.

Amanda rolled her eyes and faced the door. She heard footsteps on the other side and a few seconds later Mrs. Whitman opened the door with a weak smile on her face.

"Amanda, Jess, I'm glad you're here," her sweet voice was so comforting despite the fact that his son was missing.

Mrs. Whitman moved aside and let the two sisters into the house. The smell of chocolate chip cookies filled the air immediately, which brought back so many memories to Amanda. Every time Finn had her over when his mother was home, she would make cookies. _Finn…_

Amanda shook him out of her thoughts for now as Mrs. Whitman led them into the living room, where Mr. Whitman was sitting with two men in white uniforms.

"Amanda, Jess, this is Lieutenant Wilson and Commander Jackson from the US Coast Guard," Mrs. Whitman said. Both officers stood up and held out their hands for Amanda and Jess to shake, which they both did hesitantly.

Amanda moved to sit on the couch next to Mrs. Whitman, with Jess on the other side of her.

"Not to be rude," Jess began, which only meant she had a rude statement in mind. "But why are officers from the US Coast Guard here?"

"We've received information regarding Finn Whitman and the four other passengers on the private jet that went down two days ago." Commander Jackson said politely as he sat back down.

Amanda's eyes went wide. "Are they alive? Did you find them?"

Mrs. Whitman put a hand on her shoulder. "They haven't found them. Not yet." Her voice sounded wounded.

"That's correct ma'am," Lieutenant Wilson actually looked sad, which surprised Amanda. "But we did receive a radio transmission from the pilot, if you'd like to hear it."

Amanda looked over at Mr. Whitman, hoping that he'd say yes. Any news on Finn could help them find him…and the others, of course.

"We would, Lieutenant if you don't mind," Mr. Whitman asked politely.

"Of course." Lieutenant Wilson nodded to Commander Jackson. Commander Jackson reached into a bag sitting on the floor by his chair and pulled out a small black laptop. He opened it up, typed for a few minutes, and turned up the volume.

He looked over at Lieutenant Wilson again, who nodded again. Commander Jackson pressed the space bar on the laptop and the radio transmission began.

It was full of static, meaning that only every other word was audible.

"Private Jet 427…down...Paris...near the coast…maybe not...I see an island…plane going…engine fail…"

There were screams in the background, probably belonging to their five friends. The pilot's voice stopped for a few seconds and sounds of equipment banging against each other could be heard.

"Nose dive…oh…OH NO!"

A loud eerie noise came over the transmission, so loud that Commander Jackson had to turn down the volume. It could have just been Amanda, but it sounded like chaos had broken out on the plane. The sound of wind blowing rapidly made the next part hard to hear.

"I see…mountains…and water…lots of water…beach…in the Atlantic…going…going down…"

And then the transmission cut off. The two officers, Mr. & Mrs. Whitman, Amanda and Jess sat in silence for a few seconds.

Finn's younger sister spoke up. None of them had known that she had been listening in on their conversation.

"Was that…the plane that Finn was on?" Her voice was shaky and she looked as if she had been crying.

"Yes," Mrs. Whitman motioned for Olivia to sit next to her on the couch. "I didn't know you were listening."

"So what does this mean?" Jess asked the two officers. "Is there any way you can use that to find them?"

"We're doing our best to use locate the jet's transmission unit, and we'll be sure to let you all know when we've found something. Right now, all we've got is the northern half of the Atlantic." Lieutenant Wilson stated.

"Do…do you think he's…_they're_ alive?" Amanda asked the two officers.

The two officers exchanged a look.

"Yes, I think it's highly possible," Commander Jackson replied.

Amanda let out a sigh of relief and let go of Jess' hand, one that she didn't realize she was holding until that very moment.

"Now if you don't mind, we've got four other houses to get to today." Lieutenant Wilson stated as he stood up.

Commander Jackson put the laptop back in his bag and joined him near the door.

"We'll keep in touch as soon as we find out more information on your son, Mr. and Mrs. Whitman." Lieutenant Wilson said as he shook Mr. Whitman's hand. He turned to Amanda and Jess. "And what relation are you two to Mr. Finn Whitman?"

"She's his girlfriend and I'm her sister." Jess said, nudging Amanda.

Commander Jackson extended his hand to Amanda. "We'll find your boyfriend, miss. It's only just a matter of time."

"Thank you officer," Amanda said in a quiet voice while shaking his hand. The two officers let themselves out of the house, leaving the room in an eerie silence.

The oven timer went off, snapping Mrs. Whitman out of her thoughts.

"Oh! The cookies are ready! Who wants one?"

* * *

Day 2

Finn slowly woke up. His head felt like a million pounds. His leg was throbbing. Everything hurt.

He propped himself up on his elbows and saw Willa sleeping in the sand a few yards away.

_That doesn't make any sense,_ Finn thought to himself. _Why isn't she sleeping in the shelter?_

He slowly got up and walked over to her, barely limping because of the pain.

"Willa, wake up." He plopped himself on the sand next to her and shook her shoulders gently. "Willa!"

She groaned. "Five more minutes, mom."

"Willa," Finn shook his shoulder again. "Get up."

"No," she rolled over onto her stomach and immediately started choking on the sand in her mouth. She turned back over and sat up, coughing up sand. Her eyes locked with Finn and she let out a long sigh. "Morning."

"Morning," Finn shrugged. "Why did you sleep on the sand last night? There was plenty of room in the shelter."

Willa's facial expression turned to shock for a brief second before relaxing. "I…uh…was out here…uh…watching the…uh…ocean…and…uh…fell asleep?" She looked up at him with an expecting look, as if he wouldn't ask what was really going on.

Finn raised his eyebrow. "Yeah…we'll go with that."

He stumbled up to a standing position and offered her a hand. She took it and he helped her stand up.

"So what now?" He asked her. "We've got to do something. We can't just sit around here all day."

Willa thought about it for a second, then perked up. "I've got an idea." She walked over to the plane wreckage and started sifting through it.

Finn followed her and sat down on top of the mini fridge. "What are you doing?"

"I'm seeing how much food and water we have left."

"And?" Finn saw a half-empty water bottle sitting on the counter next to him and grabbed it. He took off the lid and started to drink it, but Willa snatched it out of his hand.

"What are you doing?" Finn yelled at Willa. "I'm thirsty!"

"We need to save this water, Finn! It's all we've got left!" She snatched the lid from his hands and put it back onto the bottle.

"_That's_ it?" Finn pointed to the bottle.

"Yeah," Willa placed the bottle on the burnt counter.

"This sucks."

"We need to find water _today_."

Finn sighed. He really didn't want to walk around to find water, but he knew it was necessary to staying alive. "When do we leave?"

* * *

Day 2

"There's nothing here," Maybeck said as he closed the door of the building he had just walked out of. "This sucks."

Charlene rolled her eyes. "Shut it Terry." She turned to Philby. "Can we go back to get some water now? This was a bust."

Philby glanced once more down at the abandoned village. He was really hoping there was some kind of electronic device here that they could use to get rescued. But of course the village was literally empty. Only the walls and the roofs of the buildings were left. Nothing else.

"Fine," he mumbled. "We've got to find something to put the water in though."

"FOUND IT!" Maybeck called from down the street. He ran up to them with two metal water bottles. "Found these puppies around the side of the house."

He tossed one to Philby as he emptied his other one.

"We should clean these out in the ocean before putting that clean water in there." Philby said as he emptied his.

"Sure thing Phildweeb. Let's head back. This place gives me the creeps."

"I agree," Charlene shivered.

"Alright, lead the way _Maydork_," Philby mocked, motioning for Maybeck and Charlene to lead the way back to their shelter.

Maybeck rolled his eyes and made the point to bump into Philby on the way out of the village. Charlene let out a dramatic sigh, muttering something about the stupidity of boys.

Philby followed behind them at a distance. He couldn't help but wonder whether or not his plan was going to work. He needed the perfect distraction so that he could slip away. He was growing impatient. Maybeck and Charlene weren't being as predictable as they normally do. He needed them to fight so that he could slip away.

But of course they were far from fighting. Heck, they were holding hands and laughing at one of his jokes.

_This is going to be harder than I thought._

* * *

"Okay, favorite memory while crossed over."

They had been playing this game all day, to take their mind off of being stranded on an island with three of their friends missing. Finn would ask a question, in which Willa would answer honestly, and then they would reverse the roles. On and on and on. All day long. They walked along the beach for a long time before heading into the jungle, where they had been for the last hour or so.

Finn thought about his answer for a few seconds before answering. There were so many horrible memories, but which of the few good ones was his favorite.

Then it hit him. _How did I forget that?_

"Easy, when Amanda and I shared our first _real _kiss."

Willa looked at him skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "It was when you were crossed over? I never heard of this."

"Yeah. Remember when I was under that spell and I kissed her and she got put under a spell? Philby crossed her over so that I could get her to prick her finger on the water wheel on Tom Sawyer's Island."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know _that_. When did you two kiss?"

"I was getting to that part _Willa_," He rolled his eyes. "I was having this big emotional speech about how I hated the Overtakers for basically ruining my life and she leaned over and kissed me so I would shut up."

Willa burst out into laughter. "That is so precious!" She elbowed him. "Why did you never tell me about that?"

"_Because_," Finn elbowed her back, "I knew you would make fun of me back then. This was _way_ before we started dating."

"Yeah, you've got that right," Willa couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Your turn."

"Speaking of couples…when did you and Philby have _your_ first kiss? You never told me about that one," Finn mocked.

Willa rolled her eyes playfully. "You were there Finn, it was in the back of that van in Mexico."

"That doesn't count! You were breaking a curse."

"But that was the first one!"

"I want the first _real_ one," Finn glared at her.

"It was the night before we got off of the cruise."

Finn raised an eyebrow as a smirk grew on his face. "_Really?_ When did that happen?"

Willa sighed, as if the last thing she wanted was to tell that story. "After we got back from our little escapade in Mexico, I got sick, so for the whole next day I was cooped up in my room. The next day, my mom went out with some of the other moms for dinner and left me all by myself. I was feeling better, but I was freezing inside of the room and couldn't figure out the AC, so I went out to sit on the balcony in my room. Apparently when my mom left, Philby snuck in."

"Sure he did, Willa."

"He did!"

"Sure Willa. We'll go with that," Finn winked, which Willa returned with a scowl.

"_Anyway_, he came out onto the balcony and sat down in the chair next to me. I went inside to get us two bottles of water and when I came back, he grabbed me by the waist and made me sit on his lap. And…you know…we kissed."

"Did he say anything cheesy?"

Willa rolled her eyes. "Okay _Charlene_ that's enough for today's gossip."

"Did you just call me _Charlene_?"

"Yes! That's something she would say!"

"Should I be offended that you compared me to her?"

"Yes you shou—" Willa's voice turned to a scream as she slid down the side of a previously unseen cliff.

A loud _SPLASH!_ echoed through the jungle, causing Finn to be more confused. He got down on his knees and leaned over the edge of the cliff. At the bottom was a pool of clear, blue water. Willa surfaced and waved up at Finn.

"Jump!"

"With a broken leg?"

"I fixed it, remember?"

Finn rolled his eyes, but still jumped off of the cliff into the water.

He surfaced and spit some water into Willa's face.

"Not cool Finn!"

"You had it coming!"

Willa rolled her eyes. "Let's fill up the water bottles."

"I've got one thing to do first."

"And what's that?"

"This!"

Finn swam over to Willa and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her down under the water. He immediately let go and swam to the edge of the cliff where a small amount of water was coming out from a place that Finn could not see. He got right underneath the waterfall and watched as Willa surfaced with an expression of anger and fury.

She spotted him under the waterfall and yelled something, but he couldn't hear her due to the loud sounds of water falling.

He stuck his tongue out of her, which she returned before getting out of the water.

He swam over to her, pulling himself out of the water.

Willa gasped.

"What?"

"OH MY GOSH THEY'RE ALIVE FINN!"

"Huh?" He turned around and saw her holding a dog tag.

"This is Maybeck's dog tag. They were here! Right here! At this very spot!"

Finn grabbed the dog tag from her hands and looked at it closer. Sure enough, it was Maybeck's.

"They're alive," he mumbled.

This changed everything.

* * *

**Hmm...so they're crossing paths now, just at the wrong times. **

**Any ideas on Philby's plan? I'd love to hear what y'all think!**

**Please review! I _love_ reading them! Y'all always say my updating makes your day. Well your reviews make _my_ day! :)**

**I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can! Enjoy the rest of your week! :)**


	6. The Domino Effect

**Sorry guys for not updating in a long time. I hope this chapter makes up for it! I really like this one. It's short and simple, but it's to the point. It also has a _lovely_ ending (hehehe). **

**I hope y'all enjoy! Here's chapter 6 :)**

* * *

Chapter 6: The Domino Effect

Day 2

Finn and Willa trudged through the jungle away from the waterfall. They wanted to spend the night at the waterfall but they figured finding their friends was more important. They filled up on water and headed off through the jungle.

They weren't sure exactly where they are going, but Willa seemed to be finding her way around. Finn stumbled along behind her, Maybeck's dog tag in his hand.

He couldn't help but wonder why Maybeck had left his dog tag. Had he left it for them to find? If so, how had they known they would happen to end up at the same waterfall? What if something went wrong? What if their bodies were rotting somewhere nearby? What if someone had taken them captive?

_No, that's not possible,_ Finn reminded himself. _We're all alone on this island._

Willa stopped, causing Finn to run into her.

"Why'd you stop?" He asked her in a confused tone of voice.

"Uh…I just d-d-don't know which w-w-way to go." Willa wiped a few tears off of her cheek. She took a deep breath and looked to her right and her left. "Let's…let's go…uh…l-l-left."

Willa started heading to the left, but Finn caught her arm, turning her around.

"Willa…"

"I'm fine Finn." Her gaze was locked on the ground, which was the most obvious sign that things were anything _but_ fine.

Finn didn't let go of her arm. "I know you're lying, Willa. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, let's go." She tried to move her arm out of his grip, but he only tightened it. "Let go of me, Finn."

She continued to struggle, but Finn pulled her closer.

"Willa…"

Willa buried her head into his chest and burst into tears. Finn wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried.

"W-w-what if the dog tag was left there because they died? Maybeck would never purposely leave that thing…" Willa mumbled into his shirt.

"I'm sure it just fell out of his pocket or something," Finn reassured her. "They're alive, Willa. I promise."

Willa took a step back and wiped the tears off of her cheeks. She took a deep breath and gave Finn a sad look. "Let's keep going. Left goes up the mountain a little, so maybe if they went back to the beach, we can see them."

"Lead the way," Finn said with a lot of enthusiasm. She was usually the one to cheer him up, but now that she was depressed and crying, he had to step up. He _was_ the leader after all.

Willa nodded and turned around. They hiked up the mountain for a few hours as the sun started to set.

Now that they had water, they weren't worried that it was almost nighttime and they were halfway up one of the mountains. Finn and Willa did their best to make themselves comfortable, but being in the middle of a jungle made that very difficult.

Even though the sun had set and neither of them could see two feet in front of them, Finn could hear Willa sniffling.

"Willa, everything's going to be okay."

He heard some shuffling and before he knew it Willa was sitting beside him. She turned to face him and he could barely see the tears on her cheek.

"How do you know everything's going to be okay, Finn?"

Finn shrugged. "I…I don't know. I'm just determined to see Amanda again. I promised her I'd be gone a week, and that's how long I plan on staying away from her."

"We've been gone almost three days. How do you plan to get back in four days?"

"There's got to be some way we can send a signal. Did we have a flare gun? Maybe the front of the plane is here and we can send a radio message? A giant fire? I don't know. Surely they're looking for us. Heck, maybe Jess had a dream about where we are."

"Maybe…" Willa leaned her head on his shoulder. "I just want this nightmare to be over with."

"Me too." Finn looked through the trees and over the edge of the mountain. He couldn't see anything but black darkness for now, but he figured in the morning it'd be a beautiful view.

* * *

Day 2

"Oh like gymnastics is _so awesome_?" Maybeck mocked Charlene. She punched him in the arm and they continued to fight.

Philby had waited for their fight to last at least thirty minutes, so that he could make sure they wouldn't look back at him.

He took a deep breath and made a silent prayer. _Please let me find Willa. She's got to be alive. I just know it._

Philby stopped in his tracks, waiting to see if Charlene and Maybeck would turn around, but they didn't. They were too wrapped up in their fight to notice him.

Philby took a deep breath and turned to the right and began trudging through the jungle.

He had been walking for about an hour and all he could think about was Willa. He didn't know what he would do if she was dead. She was his whole life, and even though they had only been separated for two days, he already felt empty on the inside.

Philby stopped to take a water break. He took in his surroundings. They consisted of jungle, jungle and more jungle. It seemed hopeless. He needed to find a beach. If he could find a beach, he would be able to find Willa more easily. Based off his calculations, the other half of the plane had to land on the other side of the mountain. He figured the island was small enough to have a beach at the base of the mountain, like it did near where they had crashed.

He took one step and immediately felt pain shoot up his leg. He looked down and realized he had stepped on some kind of sharp object. Philby sat down, more like _crashed_, onto the ground and stared at that sharp object.

A knife was cutting into his foot. A _knife?_

Philby counted to three in his head and took it out, holding in a scream of pain.

He searched the nearby ground for something resembling a walking stick. He wasn't going to stop now. That stupid knife was not going to keep him from the girl of his dreams. _Not today_.

He saw a large stick nearby and picked it up. He propped it up and used it to help himself stand.

Philby's first few steps were extremely painful. But he knew he had to continue on. _For Willa_, he reminded himself.

He walked like this for at least another hour, not making as much progress as before. The bleeding in his foot was stopping, but he knew that eventually he would have to stop to wrap it up.

Out of no where there was a ruffling of trees and leaves to the left. Then again, a few seconds later, to the right.

Philby stopped and stood perfectly still for a few seconds.

"I'm injured! You might as well come out now! I can't fight back!" Philby yelled into the jungle. Whoever it was, they had to have heard that.

Philby heard some more ruffling, this time much closer.

A few seconds later a person emerged from the jungle and pointed a gun at his head.

This mysterious female was wearing a dirty white shirt with a few cuts in it. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and looked as if it hadn't been washed in months. Philby could see the scars that had healed through the cuts in the shirt. The person's khaki shorts were just as dirty: soiled from the dirt and stained with sweat and blood. Her green eyes bore into him, making him instantly feel uncomfortable, but calm at the same time. There was something familiar about those green eyes. _Do I know her?_

The woman took a step forward and the gun touched Philby's forehead.

"You're coming with me," was all she said. Philby was not about to disagree with her.

* * *

Day 2

Charlene stepped out of the jungle and took off her shoes, letting the sand run between her toes. It was the best feeling in the world. She closed her eyes and let the beach atmosphere sink in.

Despite being on a deserted island, Charlene would still say the beach was her favorite place in the whole wide world.

She almost forgot that they had lost Philby a few hours back. _Almost__._

"I'm going to retrace our steps to find Philby. I'll be back by nightfall." Maybeck said from behind her.

Charlene turned around so fast she almost fell. They had _not_ talked about that.

"What are you talking about?"

"Philby could be hurt! Us fighting probably blocked it out! I'm going back to find him."

"You're not going out there alone!"

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not." Charlene crossed her arms.

"And why not?" Maybeck placed his hands on his hips, something he did when he challenged her.

"Because I'm coming with you!"

"Now you're not! It's too dangerous! Just stay here so I know you'll be safe!"

"And what about you?"

"I'm just retracing our steps. I'll be back by nightfall."

"Don't leave me out here alone! That'll leave all _three_ of us on our own. That's about the stupidest idea you've had all day!" Charlene threw up her hands in frustration.

Maybeck walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead. "You'll be safe if you're _here_. Just promise me you won't leave the beach. Okay? I'll be back by nightfall, I promise."

Charlene took a deep breath. The last thing she wanted was to be alone on the island, but she had a feeling Maybeck wasn't going to budge on this one.

Charlene sighed. "Fine. You better be back."

Maybeck kissed her on the lips and all of her worries went out of the door.

"I promise," He said with a smile before running off back in the direction they had come.

Charlene turned around and stared at the ocean. It was at least three more hours until dark.

_What to do?_ _I could go ahead and make a fire..._

Charlene hurried over to their shelter and found the supplies Philby had used to make their shelter. She began to cut down branches off of trees.

It took her the longest time to get a spark. It looked a lot easier on TV.

But when she did, she did everything she could to keep it going. The fire slowly grew and Charlene hurried to cut down more branches.

The fire continued to grow and grow and grow until it was at least ten feet tall.

Charlene took a step back and smiled at her handiwork. Maybe Finn and Willa would see this fire and come their way. This fire would also help Maybeck and Philby find their way back to the shelter. She had never felt more proud of herself.

Out of nowhere, the wind picked up. The wind was blowing from the ocean toward the jungle. For a second, the fire flickered but did not do anything.

But then the wind picked up even more, and the fire leaned toward the jungle.

Charlene's eyes went wide as the wind blew one last gust of wind, sending the flames into the jungle. The closest trees were engulfed in flames.

It was like a domino effect. The fire spread from tree to tree so rapidly, Charlene barely had the chance to blink.

Charlene couldn't stop it. There was no way she could get water from the ocean to the trees. Even if she could, it wouldn't be enough.

She had just set the jungle on fire—the same jungle that Maybeck and Philby were in.

Charlene's heart sank in her chest.

* * *

**Oh,** her-eyes-fiery-pinpricks**, did you enjoy the one-shot (After All) including the Willa-Philby kiss from the cruise? It's not exactly how Willa tells it in chapter 5, but it's close! **

******So...what do y'all think? Please review! If y'all don't review, I just assume y'all didn't like the chapter-which I hope you didn't. So...please review? Pretty please? :D **

******I'll do my best to update as soon as I can. Enjoy your weekend!**


	7. Six Days Alone

**Alright, here's chapter 7! :)**

* * *

Chapter 7: Six Days Alone

Day 8

It had been six days since Charlene burned down the jungle. Six days of crying. Six days of wallowing in her mistake. Six days of mourning over her four lost friends.

The fire had finally stopped early yesterday morning, but the smoke still lingered.

Charlene sat on the beach and stared out at the waves. She would have cried, but all of her tears were gone.

All Charlene had energy to do was stare out at the waves. The tide was coming in. The waves were becoming more vicious and relentless, washing the sand away after breaking it down. Charlene knew she deserved such a fate, to be dragged away after beaten for her mistakes.

_Except the sand didn't do anything to the waves_, Charlene reminded herself. _It's innocent. I'm not._

Charlene continued to stare at the waves. After hours upon hours of doing so, like she had done for six days straight, a small black dot appeared on the horizon.

At first, Charlene figured it was her eyes betraying her. She had been sitting in the brutal heat for six days with no protection—no shade or sunscreen. She figured she was just hallucinating.

But the dot grew bigger.

Charlene scrambled to her feet. It wasn't a dot, it was a helicopter. And it was headed toward her.

Charlene couldn't help but smile. She jumped up and down, waving at the helicopter, shouting for rescue.

The helicopter flew closer and hovered above her. A rope ladder was thrown overboard and a soldier began to climb down.

He got to the bottom and jumped onto the sand. Charlene ran and tackled him in a hug.

"Oh I'm so glad you're here! Please take me away from this evil place! I want to go home!"

Charlene's tears suddenly reappeared, staining the man's uniform.

The soldier held her close as she cried for a few seconds but then pulled her back.

"Where are the others? We heard there were five here."

It was hard for them to hear each other with the helicopter looming over them.

"I…I don't know…I'm all alone."

The soldier gave her a weak smile. "Don't you worry, miss, we'll find them. How about we get you back into the 'copter?"

Charlene glanced back at what was left of the shelter. She took a deep breath. She knew they wouldn't find Maybeck or Philby, but there was hope for Finn and Willa.

She turned back to the soldier and held back tears. She nodded and the soldier led her over to the rope ladder.

Once she got into the rope ladder, she saw two more soldiers. One was the pilot and the other was sitting in the back. The one sitting in the back was a female who immediately gave her a water bottle. She pulled out a clipboard and asked Charlene a few questions.

"What's your name sweetie?"

"C-Charlene Turner."

The soldier checked off something on her clipboard. "Alright, Charlene, my name is Elizabeth. The pilot is James and the soldier who got you is Michael. We're going to fly over the beach and see if we see any of your friends before heading back to the boat. Okay?"

Charlene nodded.

"Do you need something to eat?"

Charlene nodded again, this time much faster-like a child who was just asked if she wanted candy.

Elizabeth searched through her bag as James moved the helicopter down the beach. Elizabeth found a granola bar and handed it to Charlene, who inhaled it.

"Do you have any aloe?" Charlene asked Elizabeth. "My skin's on fire."

Charlene hated being so needy, but she had been alone for six days with barely any food. She couldn't help it.

Elizabeth searched the bag again, but this time she didn't find what Charlene had asked for.

"No sweetie, but we'll have some on the boat. We'll get you some when we get there, okay?"

Charlene nodded.

They were on the chopper for another hour. Michael came back and asked her questions about her health. Did she have any broken bones? Did she get injured at all while on the island? How much had she eaten over the eight days on the island?

Michael even pulled out a small flashlight and waved it in front of her face, checking her eyesight.

After the questions were over, Charlene stared out the window. All she saw was a burned down jungle and beach.

They flew past the half of the plane that was plunged into the sandbar. Charlene's heart sunk lower in her chest. Maybeck and Philby were dead because of her. Finn and Willa were nowhere to be found…

James slowed the helicopter, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Michael," James called back. "There's two on the beach."

Michael nodded and started to throw the rope ladder out of the window, repeating the same exercise that he had when rescuing Charlene.

Charlene moved to the other side of the helicopter and looked down to see two of her friends waving at the helicopter.

Charlene waved back, a huge smile on her face. She thought they were dead, but here they were right below her.

There was hope for them yet. Michael hurried down the rope ladder toward them.

* * *

Day 3

Finn woke up and accidentally knocked Willa off of his shoulder.

They both sat there for a few seconds, taking in the severity of their situation. Based off of the sun, Finn figured it was at least noon.

Willa stood up. She turned her head behind her, as if searching for something, and gasped.

"Finn…"

She turned around, her eyes wide with fear.

"We've got to run."

"What?"

"RUN!"

She took off past him, back down the mountain. Finn looked where she had been looking and saw trees being consumed by a giant forest fire. _Or is it a jungle fire?_

They had at least ten seconds before it reached them. Finn was not determined to stand there and time it, though.

Finn took off in the direction that Willa had gone in.

Down the mountain they ran, jumping over fallen trees, ducking under low branches, swatting away the bugs.

They ran for a long time, but Finn never looked back. They kept running and running and running.

Until suddenly they ran out onto a beach.

Finn saw Willa collapse on the sand, breathing heavily. Finn took a deep breath and did the same.

The sand felt so good compared to the hard jungle soil. The wind along the beach carried the smell of the ocean. Finn felt like he was in heaven.

He glanced back at the jungle and saw that the jungle was erupting in flames. Being on the beach, he knew they were safe.

Finn laid his head back down and slept.

* * *

_"I told you this was going to work," Jess said to Amanda._

_Finn propped himself up on his elbows. "What's going on?"_

_He searched his surroundings and saw that he was in Magic Kingdom. To say he was confused was an understatement._

_"We crossed you over," Jess stated as if it was obvious. She rolled her eyes and looked at Amanda. "Your boyfriend's an idiot."_

_"Shut up Jess." Amanda kneeled next to Finn and helped him sit up. "Do you know where your plane's crashed?"_

_"Uh…an island?"_

_"Anything specific about the island that can help us find it?"_

_"There's a huge mountain…but otherwise no."_

_"How far into the plane ride were you when you crashed?" Jess asked._

_"Uh…seven hours?"_

_"Okay," the sisters exchanged a look. Jess nodded and stood up, leaving the couple alone._

_"Finn, sweetie, how are the others?"_

_"Willa's with me and she's fine…but I have no clue where the rest are. The plane broke in half before we crashed."_

_He saw Amanda hold back tears. Finn wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. He could smell her perfume, a smell he was determined to keep in his memory until he got back to her._

_"We're going to find you," Amanda reminded him. "They haven't stopped looking yet."_

_"It'll all be okay, Amanda." He kissed her on the cheek. "We'll be back before you know it."_

_Amanda let go of him and stood up. She offered a hand to help him up, which he took. He winced in pain as he stood._

_"What's wrong Finn?"_

_"I think I broke my leg. Willa said she fixed it, but we just ran from a fire, so…I guess it's re-broken."_

_"_WHAT?_"_

_Finn wrapped his arms around her, mostly for balance. "I'm fine, Amanda."_

_Amanda nodded, but he knew she wasn't convinced. "I miss you, Finn. Please make it back alive."_

_"I told you I'd come back in a week, right? It's only been three days. Somebody needs to calm down._" _He winked at her in a playful way, but she obviously wasn't in the joking mood._

_Amanda gave him one quick kiss before Jess came back over._

_"We've got to cross back over. We've got work to do."_ _Jess turned to Finn. "Try to stay on a beach. It's easier to spot people on a beach."_

_Finn nodded and gave both Amanda and Jess a quick hug. _

_"Four days at the most," he whispered into Amanda's ear. _

_Jess pressed the button the fob and he crossed back over._

* * *

Finn woke up and immediately wanted to be back in Orlando.

_At least they're still searching for us_, Finn concluded.

Finn saw Willa sitting at the edge of the water, head in her hands, probably crying again.

Finn limped over to her, wincing at every step. He plopped himself down next to her.

"What's up Willa?"

She didn't answer. She pointed out to the ocean and Finn hesitated before following her line of sight.

The other half of the plane was sticking out of a sandbar. At least half of the plane was underwater.

"They're gone," Willa whispered.

For the first time in three days, Finn actually believed it.

* * *

**Hmm...so who do you think gets saved right after Charlene? Are Maybeck and Philby even alive? Who's the girl who took Philby capture? **

**Find out next chapter! Please review! I'll have the next one up asap! Have a lovely weekend!**


	8. Lauren

Chapter 8: Lauren

Day 2

Maybeck trudged through the jungle. He knew he shouldn't have left Charlene, but he didn't want to put her in danger. They had been dating since junior year of high school, almost five years now, the last thing he wanted was for her to be hurt.

He had been searching for Philby for at least two hours now. _Stupid idiot_, Maybeck cursed his missing friend, _why can't you just show yourself?_

The sound of a branch falling behind him made him jump.

The sound of flames made Maybeck's heart skip a beat. He turned around slowly and saw the jungle engulfed in flames.

"Holy—"

A branch engulfed in flames flew only two feet in front of him. Maybeck glanced both ways and took off in the direction he had been heading—away from the flames, of course.

Maybeck kept running, but he felt as if the flames were catching up to him.

The sound of the flames grew louder, making Maybeck want to go faster, but he couldn't. The oxygen in the air was being consumed by the fire about as fast as Maybeck could breathe it in.

He was running out of time.

He summoned all of his remaining strength and pushed forward. The flames were all around him now. He began dodging the flaming branches as they fell from the trees.

He was determined to get out of the jungle and get to the beach. He wouldn't let any stupid flames get in his way.

A branch fell right on top of him, knocking him to the ground, where his head hit a rock—hard, causing his world to go black.

* * *

Day 4

Maybeck slowly woke up. He took a deep breath before entering a coughing fit.

He had a splitting headache and every muscle in his body ached.

Maybeck somehow managed to stand up, despite the aches and the pains, and noticed that the jungle in every direction was burnt to as crisp.

"What the—"

In the little light the now emerging sun was emitting, Maybeck could see that the entire jungle was burnt. Trees turned into black piles of ash. Small fires the side of a hand were still spread out in various places.

Maybeck took a few deep breaths and wanted nothing more than to cry, but tears wouldn't come.

He turned around in a full circle slowly, so that he could take in every sight and sound.

He wanted more than anything to see someone or even a sign of the beach, but he saw nothing.

He closed his eyes and took another breath.

If Philby was still in the jungle before the fire, he was dead now. He just hoped that Charlene had stayed on the beach. She would be safe there. At least there was hope that she was alive.

A question began to haunt him as he began to walk in a random direction.

_How was the fire started?_

* * *

Day 5

Philby sat in the small hut. The walls were made of wood, with some kind of metal on the outside. How the crazy woman got metal on this deserted island, he wasn't sure. For the past three days, she hadn't said a word to him. She had made some kind of liquid with plants found in the jungle and soaked his injured foot in it for two days. Earlier this morning she had let him take it out of the liquid and wrapped his foot in a clean, white shirt.

She found some berries and handed them to him.

"Are these edible?" He asked her.

She raised her eyebrows at him, but said nothing. He was beginning to think that she didn't know a lot of English.

She took a few berries out of his hand and popped them into her mouth.

"I'll take that as a yes," Philby said before throwing the rest of the berries into his mouth.

They sat in awkward silence for another hour.

"There's something I need to tell you," the woman said in a soft voice. She glanced up at Philby and for the first time in three days, he noticed the sad look in her eyes.

Philby figured she had to be at least nineteen, maybe a little older, but definitely not as old as him. He wondered how she had gotten to this island and survived all by herself for this long. He had more questions than he could think of.

"What is that?" he asked.

"I see horrible things in your future."

Philby gave her a confused look. The woman saw his face and gave him a weak smile.

"I had a dream about you and your friends the night before I met you in the jungle. That's why I asked you to come with me. I would have left you alone if I hadn't had that dream."

"Then why didn't you mention that three days ago?"

"Because I had one the first night you were here." She took a deep breath. "And every night since."

"You're _dreaming_ about me?" Philby asked slowly and carefully.

"More like…seeing your future. I believe you have a friend who does this as well."

Philby took a deep breath. He decided to trust this woman. She had healed his foot after all. "Her name is Jess."

The woman got up and grabbed a small bucket of berries. She walked back to where she was sitting and placed the bucket between them on the floor. "She was once under a spell, no?"

Philby let out a laugh as he grabbed a few more berries. "We've all had our share of being put under a spell. You'll have to be more specific."

She looked up at him and smiled, but she didn't ask what he meant. He figured she already knew.

"So you said you saw horrible things in my future? What does that mean?"

She took another berry. "Let me explain."

Philby watched as she leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. She studied Philby for a few seconds before telling her story.

"My name is Lauren. My mother was pregnant with me when her plane crashed here. It was only her and three other people who survived. All of them died of unknown causes within two weeks. My mother gave birth to me, but died when I was eight."

"I'm sorry," Philby said in a quiet voice. The subject of her mother seemed like a touchy subject for her.

"Don't be. It was her time."

Lauren took a few deep breaths. "I have the gift of seeing the future. Most of the time the subject of my dreams are people who come to the island."

"So you knew we were coming?"

Lauren shook her head. "No, I have a feeling you were here before my dreams began."

Philby studied her. She seemed distraught, as if what she saw was disturbing her. It was _his_ future, why did she care?

"What did you see in my future, Lauren?"

Lauren glanced up at him. "Horrible things."

"What kind of horrible things?"

Lauren closed her eyes. "I…I saw a woman with green skin and a long black cape."

Philby froze. He knew _exactly_ who she was describing. "W-w-what was she doing?"

"She enacted some kind of...curse. This isn't going to be the first time you'll be separated for a long period of time from your loved one."

Philby thought about what she was saying. At first, he figured she was talking about his parents and his friends. But no, she said loved _one. _As in _one _person. She was talking about Willa. Sometime in the future, Willa and Philby would be separated again by some kind of curse Maleficent was going to create.

Lauren opened her eyes and studied him. "You really love her, don't you?"

"Willa?" Just saying her name brought a smile to his face. "Very much so."

"But you are worried she is not alive?"

Philby hung his head. He willed himself not to cry. "Her half of the plane disappeared during the crash. I'm not sure if she's alive or not."

"She is not dead. I've seen her."

Philby snapped his head in her direction. "WHAT?"

Lauren gave him a confused look, as if she didn't understand why he cared so much about knowing the love of his life is alive.

Philby stood up. "Where did you see her?"

"In the woods near the beach."

"WHEN?"

Lauren shrugged. "Yesterday."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

Lauren gave him a look similar to a lost puppy. "I didn't know who she was until my dream last night. She hadn't appeared in my dreams until then."

Philby studied her. She didn't seem to care about him or his situation.

"Did you…did you talk to her?" Philby returned the lost puppy look.

"No. I saw her from far away. She looked…_lost_."

"Lost?"

"The look in her eyes. As if she had lost something important."

Philby sat down. "She probably thinks I'm dead."

"Probably."

Philby shot her a look, but Lauren was focused on the bucket of berries.

"You should go find her, by the beach," Lauren said quietly. "If you go out of here and take a right you'll hit the beach in two days time. There's a small stream about half way, so you should stop there for water and rest."

"You're letting me go?"

"Of course! I'm not _keeping_ you here."

"But…the past three days?"

"Your foot was swollen and injured." Lauren acted as if the answer was obvious. "You're fine to walk now."

Philby stood up and walked over to the door in the small cabin. He turned around and looked back at Lauren.

"Do you want to come? You could get off of this island for the first time…ever."

"No," Lauren shook her head. "No, this island is home."

"But you're all alone."

Lauren shrugged. "I'll be okay. Philby, you've got a hard time ahead of you. I can't help you with that, but that girl you love so much will be able to help. So will your friends, once you get off the island."

Philby took a deep breath. "Thanks Lauren…for everything."

"You're welcome Dell Philby."

He hadn't told her his name, but he wasn't surprised that she already knew that. He waved to her and walked out of the house, following Lauren's directions.

* * *

Day 8

Finn woke up with the feeling of his girlfriend's lips still on his.

He rubbed his eyes and saw Willa sitting by a fire, poking some of the cinders with a stick. She saw that he was awake and smiled at him.

Finn felt a wave of guilt hit him. Since his quick nap on the third day, Finn had crossed over every night. Each time, Amanda was there waiting for them. Jess had stopped coming after the second time, leaving the couple alone.

Last night, he and Amanda had walked all over Magic Kingdom. She had mentioned that the coast guard had found two islands that fit the description he had given her a few days ago. They were close by and were going to search them the next day.

Finn had been so happy that he had twirled her around and started kissing her.

Seeing Willa made him feel guilty. Here he was, kissing the nights away with his girlfriend and there she was, convinced that her boyfriend was dead.

_What kind of friend am I?_

"Hey Wills," Finn said as he walked over and plopped himself down next to her.

"Hey, sleep well?"

Finn nodded. He couldn't meet her eye. He didn't even think about her wanting to cross over. He didn't think about asking Amanda to try crossing the others over to see if they were alive.

He was the worst leader ever.

Finn put his head in his hand and felt tears stream down his cheek.

"Hey," Willa put her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. We'll be rescued soon."

Her optimism after everything they've been through was like a bullet through the heart. A huge tidal wave of guilt crashed over him.

Before he could tell her about crossing over, he heard a faint noise in the distance.

It sounded like…like…_No it can't be._

Finn turned around and saw a helicopter heading toward them.

Finn jumped up and started waving at it. Willa quickly caught on and did the same.

The helicopter stopped over them, whipping their hair around like nobody's business.

A man opened a door and threw down a rope ladder. He started climbing down and a girl with blonde hair appeared in the door.

"CHARLENE!" Willa yelled, tears forming in her eyes.

Charlene waved back, a huge smile on her face.

The man reached the bottom of the ladder and waved them over.

"You two ready to get back home?"

Finn and Willa exchanged a glance, both of them with huge smiles on their faces.

"Yes."

* * *

**Alright, y'all know the drill. Please review, blah, blah, blah. I'll update asap, blah, blah, blah.**

**But seriously though, have a wonderful day :)**


	9. Epilogue

**Okay guys, here's the last chapter of "Born For The Sunrise, We'll Survive the Pain." I know I kind of shoved the story along, but I hope this ending makes up for it!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Epilogue

Day 9

Philby stumbled through the jungle, like he had for the past four days. Despite what Lauren had told him, he hadn't found any sign of Willa yet.

If Philby was being honest, he'd admit that he was beginning to lose hope. _Maybe all of my friends are dead_, Philby thought to himself, _and I'm the only one left besides Lauren._

Philby debated going back to Lauren's house and staying with her. Surely she knew some way for him to get rescued.

He kept walking, perplexed by all of the burnt trees and branches. He wasn't sure how they got burnt, but he figured he didn't want to know. None of the trees near Lauren's little house were burnt. Philby figured there must have been some kind of giant fire.

He decided not to dwell on that too much.

It was probably hours upon hours until he stumbled out of the jungle and onto the beach.

Out in the ocean he saw half of the plane plunged into sandbar—an all too familiar sight for him.

At first, Philby felt saddened. He had gone full circle and didn't see any sign of Maybeck or Charlene. But then when he heard someone yell his name down the beach, his heart jumped into his throat.

He turned and saw Maybeck running over to him.

"DUDE! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Then Maybeck did something so uncharacteristic that Philby thought he was hallucinating: Maybeck gave Philby a hug.

"Why are you so surprised?" Philby asked him as he hugged Maybeck back.

Maybeck let go of him. "Dude! You ran off seven days ago and I couldn't find you!"

"Where's Charlene?"

Maybeck's expression turned sour. "It looks like she had been using the shelter, but there's no sign of her. She must have moved on down the beach, or…or…she's…you know."

Philby nodded. The last thing he wanted to talk about was the fact that they were probably the only two left out of their group.

Maybeck and Philby moved over to the shelter and sat down. The shadows gave them a good escape from the scorching hot heat.

"How long have you been here?" Philby asked his somber friend.

"Just got back here last night."

"Where have you been? Why weren't you with Charlene?"

Maybeck picked up a previously unseen bracelet. Philby immediately recognized it as Charlene's. He held it in his hands as if it would break if he let it go.

"After you disappeared, I went back to find you, and I made Charlene stay here."

"And you were gone for almost seven days?"

Maybeck nodded. "I have no clue where Charlene could be."

"I'm sure she's just out getting food or water or something," Philby reassured his friend.

Before Maybeck could protest or say anything else, Philby heard a strange noise. It sounded almost like…like…

Philby got out of the shelter and saw a helicopter heading in their direction. He ran out onto the beach and started jumping up and down.

"HEY! OVER HERE!"

Maybeck followed him out there and immediately caught on, imitating Philby's actions.

The helicopter hovered over them as a rope ladder was thrown down. A man in a uniform scurried down the ladder. Once he reached the bottom, he turned and faced Maybeck and Philby with a huge grin on his face.

"Let me guess, you two are Dell Philby and Terry Maybeck?"

Both boys nodded.

"Alright then, let's get you back to the boat. Your friends will be happy to see you."

The man turned around to get back on the ladder, but Maybeck grabbed his arm.

"Our friends? You've already rescued them?"

"Yes! We got them all yesterday."

"All of them?" Philby asked. He was so happy he had tears running down his cheek, but he didn't care. "Charlene? Finn? Willa?"

"All three! Now let's get you two home!"

* * *

After the helicopter reached the boat, both Philby and Maybeck were swarmed with people.

First things first, they were both inspected by a doctor. After being cleared, they were both given a phone and allowed to call their family. Maybeck excused himself to another room so that he could call his aunt in private, leaving Philby alone.

After assuring his mother and father that he was fine and that he would be home soon, he called Jess.

"Hello?" Jess mumbled into the phone.

"Jess, it's me, Philby."

"PHILBY?" He heard some shuffling on the other line.

"Yeah, Jess," Philby laughed. "It's me. Now I need you to do something for me. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure! Anything!"

"We're all going to be sent to New York City and according to the pilot that rescued us, Maybeck and I will get there before the others."

"All of you are alive?" Amanda's voice asked from a distance. Philby then realized he was on speakerphone.

"Yes, Amanda. We all are. We got rescued separately. Long story."

"So what do you want me to do?" Jess asked him.

"In my bedroom, in the bottom drawer of the desk, there's an unopened package. I need you to get it and bring it with you when you meet us in New York."

"You want me to get it from your house?"

"Yeah, if you tell my mom what I need, she'll let you in with no problem."

"Okay, we can do that." Amanda replied.

"Just don't look in the box," Philby added. "But if you do, don't tell anybody. Can you two do that for me?"

"Yes!" Both sisters chimed in. Philby hung up the phone and was tempted to try Willa's phone. But all of their stuff was destroyed in the crash, he could only assume the same happened to her and Finn.

* * *

Day 14—La Guardia Airport, NYC

"Do you have it?" A nervous Philby asked Jess.

"Oh my gosh for the last time, _YES_."

"Jess, please," Amanda chided her sister, "he's just nervous that's all."

Maybeck could tell that she was about as nervous at Philby. Her hands were shaking, and she was doing an awful job of hiding it.

Maybeck and Philby had returned to New York City four days ago, because they didn't have any injuries. They received word that the other three were airlifted to the nearest hospital—Lisbon, Portugal—because of a broken leg and some other minor injuries. Today, they were being flown back to the United States.

Maybeck wasn't nervous, like Phildweeb and Amanda. He was excited. He hadn't seen Charlene in 12 days. Of course they had gone longer periods apart, him being in the army and all, but this time was different. They had been stranded on an island. He had left her. They had gotten rescued separately.

And now they were being reunited—after she got to see her mom first, of course.

"They should be coming out any minute now," Philby said while watching the seconds go by on his watch.

A wave of people walked past them toward baggage claim. It seemed impossible to see anyone clearly.

But then he saw a wave of blonde hair. She made her way through the crowd straight to where the parents were standing. After a few minutes of "oh thank God you're alive" and "we were so worried about you" and "I love you" and "I missed you," that wave of beautiful blonde hair made her way to Maybeck at full sprint.

He took a step forward and caught her as she ran into his arms.

He didn't want to say anything. He took in every second of her embrace. She buried her head into his chest and he held on tight, as if letting go would mean losing her forever.

"I shouldn't have left you alone," Maybeck whispered into her ear.

Charlene started to cry. He could feel the tears staining his shirt. She mumbled something incoherent. He pushed her head off of his chest and wiped the tears away with his thumb.

"What did you say?"

"I started the fire," she whispered before burying herself in his chest again.

Maybeck heard the paparazzi yelling at them, asking questions, snapping pictures, but he didn't care. He had dealt with the same thing four days ago. He ignored all of them and focused in on Charlene.

"It's alright, Charlie." He ran his hand up and down her back. He kissed the top of her head and held her tight. "We're all alive and safe. That's all that matters."

They stayed like that for a few more seconds before Maybeck remembered the bracelet. He reached into his pocket and fished it out.

"I believe this is yours?" He asked her. A smile grew on her face.

"I thought I had lost this!" She took the bracelet and placed it on her wrist.

"Don't I get like a kiss or something for being the best boyfriend ever?"

Charlene punched him in the arm. "Not with that attitude you don't!"

Maybeck leaned in and kissed her anyway, but she didn't complain.

* * *

After Charlene showed up, Amanda started to get anxious. She could see Finn's family congregating around one person, but she couldn't see _him._

The past five days, after getting rescued, they hadn't crossed over to meet one another. The past five days, she had been alone, waiting for him to return to her.

His mother turned, giving Amanda a view of Finn. He was in a new pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. On his left leg, was a brace. He was leaning heavily on his crutches.

His eyes locked with hers and a huge grin appeared on his face. Amanda moved throughout the crowd and made her way to him. Despite his crutches, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

She heard the crutches fall to the ground as he wrapped his arms around her, deepening the kiss. She could hear the multitudes of paparazzi flashing their cameras, but she pushed that far out of her mind. Right now the only two people that existed in the world were Finn and herself.

She ended the kiss, but only moved back far enough to where their noses were touching.

"Boy, have I missed that." He winked at her, making her blush.

She punched him in the stomach. "You promised to be back in a week."

"I did my best, Mandy."

She kissed him on the cheek. "You're back alive, that's all that matters."

"That's not _all_ that matters."

She gave him a confused look. "What else matters?"

"You."

"What does that mean?"

"_You_ matter, Amanda."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "You're super cheesy, you know that?"

"Oh, you know you love it."

Amanda nodded. "That's true, I do." She kissed him again before stepping back and grabbing both of his crutches for him.

"Thanks sweetheart," he said as he readjusted his arms over them.

"So you decided to break your leg while you were on this island? Smart move."

"Willa did the best she could fixing it up. The doctors even complimented her on her work."

"Of course they did!" Willa came up behind Finn and put a hand on his shoulder. "I did an _amazing_ job!"

Amanda pulled Willa in for a hug. "Thanks for taking care of Finn," she whispered into her ear.

"No problem." Willa let go of her and searched the crowd for Philby. Amanda didn't turn around to show her where he was, but she could tell when she had found him, for a huge smile grew on her face.

* * *

Willa had never been so happy to see him in her life.

She saw him talking with Charlene, Jess and Maybeck and started running through the airport towards him.

When she got to them, she pushed through Charlene and Jess and stood right in front of him.

"Hey," was all she could say before Philby picked her up and twirled her around. He set her back on the ground and kissed her passionately.

He ended the kiss, but didn't let go of her.

"I love you, Willa."

She gave him a huge smile. "I love you too."

He kissed her again. Willa could feel all of the doubts and worries from the past two weeks melt away. For two weeks she had thought he was dead, but now here they were in the middle of the La Guardia airport kissing.

She had never been happier.

Someone tapped Willa on the shoulder and she turned around to see who it was. She loved how Philby's grip loosened just enough so that she could turn, but then tightened around her waist once she had finished turning. It was like their minds were in sync at all times—and she loved it.

Standing there was Jess with a small brown package.

"I believe you wanted me to give you this Philby?" Jess asked.

"Oh yeah," Philby let go of her and reached for the box. He opened the box and grabbed something small and black out of it and shoved the box back into Jess' hands, shooing her away.

"What's that?" Willa asked.

Philby glanced down at the small, black box in his left hand. He took a deep breath and looked back up at her.

"Willa, there's something I've got to confess."

"Uh…okay?"

"I bought this a long time ago, but I was too afraid to do anything with it until now. I know it's ridiculously cliché to do so now, but I can't imagine a better time to do this."

"Do _what_ exactly?"

He gave her a beautiful smile. "Willa, ever since eighth grade I've had a crush on you. It wasn't until the cruise when I actually asked you out, but that's only because I wanted it to be perfect. Every day that we've been together has been a blessing to me, each new day becoming the best of my life. I love everything about you: your personality, how smart you are, your kind heart, the way you laugh, the way you always make me smile on the worst days, how you always see the good in people, how you're beautiful in your own unique way…everything. And…and…"

Philby got down on one knee and opened the small box, revealing a small diamond ring.

"I love you, Willa Angelo. Will you marry me?"

Willa was stunned. A tidal wave of emotions came crashing in on her. She couldn't help the smile on her face and a few tears of joy.

"Yes."

Philby's face lit up as he placed the ring on her finger. After that he stood up and kissed her. Everybody around them clapped and someone—Maybeck—whistled.

"I love you too, Philby." Willa said once they had finished. Immediately all of the keepers joined them, giving hugs and congratulations to the newly engaged couple.

It didn't matter what happened now, in Willa's opinion. They would get through it together. They were born for the sunrise.: each new day would bring new hopes, dreams and opportunities for them. They could survive any upcoming pain—whether that be literal or emotional.

But more importantly, they would do it together.

* * *

**So? What did y'all think of this story overall? Good? Bad? **

**I'll do my best to finish up "Whodunnit" soon, but no guarantees (it's fall break-yay!) ****I hope you have a wonderful weekend!**


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